James Laurie: Southampton stab victim 'lacked support'

Agencies missed chances to intervene in the life of a teenager who was fatally stabbed while staging a carjacking, a report has said.

James Laurie, 17, was killed by another teenager in Southampton in 2020.

The victim's involvement in crime followed an "extremely complex and troubled childhood", report author Dr Russell Wate said.

He said the stabbing could not have been foreseen but more could have been done to help Mr Laurie earlier in life.

The teenager was on an overnight "spree of taking drugs and offending" when he attacked a car on 19 January, Winchester Crown Court previously heard.

He was fatally stabbed by a car passenger who was later found not guilty of manslaughter after pleading self-defence.

Dr Wate said Mr Laurie, given the pseudonym 'Liam' in the report, which was commissioned by Southampton Safeguarding Children Partnership, was involved in crime from the age of eight.

The boy was traumatised early in life by domestic abuse, a permanent facial scar from a dog bite and a club foot which provoked "extreme bullying", the report said.

Dr Wate said the effect of the trauma and his mother's neglect was apparently "not considered" by social work professionals in Southampton.

Later the teenager was placed by authorities in settings in Bristol, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Glasgow and Lancashire.

The report said: "The review has not found many good examples of... access to counselling... or the treatment for his early childhood trauma or for his believed ADHD.

"There was no real plan to provide Liam with a therapeutic intervention or direct work around his substance misuse."

Southampton Safeguarding Children Partnership said the report highlighted "a number of important points of learning for safeguarding agencies in the city".

It added: "These areas of learning are already being addressed effectively."