Kennedi Westcarr Sabaroche, a 25 year old social media marketer, was strangled in her car by Gogoa Lois Tape after he lured her to his home in Hackney, east London, on April 5 last year. Their daughter was asleep inside the property when the killing took place.
Westcarr, 58, described her daughter’s death as a “heinous act of violence”. Hours passed before police brought the child to her maternal grandmother. “It was a relief when she came through the door,” Westcarr said. “I took her from the officer’s arms and held her tight.”
At that moment, her life had changed irrevocably. Her youngest daughter was dead and Tape, who was later described as suffering from undiagnosed schizophrenia, had been charged with murder.
Westcarr Sabaroche and her daughter had been living with Westcarr in north London. Despite this, Westcarr had no legal rights over her granddaughter. Tape, even while in custody for killing the child’s mother, retained parental responsibility. He had legal authority over decisions about education, healthcare and where the child would live.
As a result, Westcarr found herself in the extraordinary position of having to seek consent from the man who killed her daughter in order to care for her grandchild.
A senior education welfare officer by profession, Westcarr knew that when one parent kills the other, a local authority has a duty under the Children Act 1989 to step in and ensure the child’s safety while long term arrangements are assessed.
Haringey council, the family’s local authority, said it received a police referral four days after the killing and that the family had not previously been known to social services. An initial assessment classified the child as a “child in need”, meaning she required support from the local authority to maintain a reasonable standard of health and development.
Westcarr said she was left uncertain about what would happen next. After a week without decisive action from the council, she privately applied to the family court for an interim child arrangements order, giving her decision making authority over her granddaughter. She also sought a prohibited steps order to prevent Tape or his parents from removing the child from her care.
“I knew that without parental responsibility doctors and health professionals would not speak to me,” she said. “I acted in my granddaughter’s best interests.”
She was shocked when the council criticised her for acting too quickly. Her barrister later told the court that the local authority had failed to act for seven days following the killing. The council maintained that the child’s placement with her grandmother amounted to a private family arrangement.
Chris Barnes, a barrister from 4PB representing Westcarr, questioned how the council had assessed Tape’s capacity to exercise parental responsibility at that stage, given the seriousness of his alleged actions.
Westcarr also struggled to access therapeutic support for herself and her granddaughter. It took six months of repeated engagement before the council agreed to fund nursery fees in October 2024.
Tape, who had smoked cannabis daily for a decade, was due to stand trial for murder earlier this year. Prosecutors accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, and he was sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.
Westcarr had hoped that Jade’s Law would spare her the ordeal of further court proceedings. The legislation allows a criminal court to restrict parental responsibility when one parent kills the other. It was introduced following the murder of Jade Ward in 2021 and received royal assent last year. However, it has yet to be brought into force, leaving families like Westcarr’s navigating the family courts alone.
She has called on ministers to implement the law without delay. “We were trying to process what had happened,” she said, “but we were forced to communicate with the perpetrator. That should never happen.”
In October, Westcarr faced Tape in the family court. She asked the judge to grant her special guardianship of her granddaughter, revoke Tape’s parental responsibility, remove his surname from the child and add Kennedi as a middle name. She also requested limits on contact from Tape’s parents, who she said continued to advocate for their son.
Westcarr, represented without charge, also sought a transparency order allowing the family to be named so that the case could be reported publicly.
The judge, David Willans, rejected arguments from the council that naming the family would compromise the child’s privacy. He ruled that there was a clear public interest in the case, particularly given the ongoing political debate over parental responsibility in cases of domestic homicide.
Tape appeared by video link from a secure mental health unit. Unrepresented, he opposed the removal of his parental rights and said he was being erased from his daughter’s life. He objected to the proposed name change, saying it was the only remaining proof of his connection to her.
The judge dismissed his objections and revoked his parental responsibility. In his written ruling, Willans said he could not see how the child could one day understand a system that allowed the man who killed her mother to retain authority over her life.
All of Westcarr’s applications were granted. The judge praised her family for stepping in after what he described as tragic events, saying their actions were driven by love for the child and respect for her mother’s memory.
“It felt like a huge release,” Westcarr said afterwards. “We can finally start to rebuild our lives.”
Her solicitor, Annie Francis of Miles and Partners, said the case had been marked by courage and persistence. “There are no winners here,” she said, “but there is comfort in knowing this child now has security and stability.”
Weeks on, Westcarr said she remains deeply disappointed by the council’s response. She believes it failed to recognise its responsibilities because she appeared capable of coping. “They told me I would have to change my life to raise my grandchild,” she said. “Without acknowledging their failures, it is hard to know what lessons have been learned.”
Haringey council said it did not accept Westcarr’s account and maintained that the court had not criticised its actions. It said it had provided significant financial support and continues to do so under a special guardianship support plan.
Asked what her daughter would have made of her fight, Westcarr paused. “Kennedi was a fighter,” she said. “I had to step out of myself and do what she could not do. I know she would be proud of me.”
