‘Aliens made me do it’ defendant facing jail

Trio found guilty of cruelty to toddler in rodent-ridden house
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
5:00 PM

A pensioner who claimed aliens ordered her to stop social workers from checking on a neglected child is facing jail.

Edelina Shaw, 65, who claims to have been in contact with extra-terrestrials for more than 35 years, prevented social services from investing allegations the boy had been neglected.

The former psychiatric nurse along with her disabled husband Edward, 71 and their daughter Tamia Lal, 30, allowed the boy to live in a filthy, insect infested, rodent-ridden house.

During the trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court jurors were shown video footage of within the house. Piles of boxes lined the walls, up to the ceiling. Shoes and kitchen utensils were scattered across the floors, along with rotting banana skins in the bathroom.

The trio failed to wash the boy or clean his teeth, causing him to become afraid of bathing and develop rampant tooth decay.

The boy was staying at the Shaws’ home in Leytonstone, which was riddled with rodents and insects and “dangerously cluttered”.

Social services from Waltham Forest Council received information expressing concerns about the property on June 13 last year, said prosecutor Wayne Cranston-Morris.

Mrs Shaw refused to let social workers in on four occasions, claiming aliens had told her not to, and police had to force entry.

“They discovered a box of rotting vegetables on top of a fridge and an insect infestation,” Mr Cranston-Morris said.

“The passages were dangerously cluttered with bags and equipment and the main front room was absolutely full of rubbish.”

“The kitchen was cluttered and unhygienic and the bathroom was being used as a makeshift kitchen and had debris.”

A foul smell was also present and there was an absence of natural light.

The boy’s fingernails had been allowed to grow long and were encrusted with grime. “His teeth were discoloured and eroded and he was diagnosed with rampant tooth decay,” said Mr Cranston-Morris. “He also appeared scared of the bath and water.”

Lal told police the boy was happy living there. Mrs Shaw, who has been a full time carer for her husband since 2002, told officers she refused to let social services in because she wasn’t sure of their identity.

The Shaws, of Leytonstone, and Lal, of Upton Park, all denied a single count of cruelty to a person under 16. The jury took just three hours and 52 minutes to find them guilty and they were bailed ahead of sentence on July 9.