Woman jailed for murdering toddler Star Hobson vows to appeal in first interview from jail
An ex-bouncer jailed for murdering toddler Star Hobson has vowed to appeal her life sentence in her first interview from behind bars.
Speaking over the phone from HMP Styal, in Cheshire, Savannah Brockhill reportedly showed no remorse as she described the countryside view from her private room – complete with a TV, wardrobe and ensuite.
The 28-year-old also refuted claims a fellow inmate had scalded her with boiling water and sugar, known as “prison napalm”.
In December, Brockhill was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years over the murder of her ex-girlfriend Frankie Smith’s 16-month-old daughter Star.
Smith, 20, was cleared of murder but convicted of allowing her daughter’s death and jailed for eight years after a trial heard the toddler suffered “utterly catastrophic” injuries in her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire.
A jury at Bradford Crown Court heard how Star endured months of assaults and psychological harm before her death in September 2020.
On the day she died, Star is said to have suffered a fatal punch or kick with force similar to a car crash. The attack caused the toddler to lose half the blood in her body and damaged her internal organs.
The judge in the seven-week trial described how Star was “caught up in the crossfire” of the tumultuous relationship between Brockhill and Smith. Brockhill was branded “pure evil” by Star’s family, who said she “ascended from the bowels of hell” after she was convicted.
But the former bouncer and security guard, who now reportedly works as a cleaner at HMP Styal, has told how she plans to appeal her conviction. In two interviews with The Daily Mail, Brockhill quoted from 4,000 documents of evidence she claimed proved her “innocence”.
She alleged it was Smith who delivered the fatal blow, claiming she kicked out at her daughter to stop her from following her to the bathroom and accidentally caught her in the stomach.
Asked why she didn't bring it up in court, she claimed her lawyers warned her against blaming her ex-girlfriend for fear she’d be accused of lying.
“I loved her to bits, but in the end, it was more for Star [that she stayed with Smith],” she told the Mail.
“I loved Star, the more so because she was born on my mother’s birthday, the 21 May. She had the bluest eyes you've ever seen, and she just wanted to play.
“I learned [sic] her ‘round and round the garden’, and she’d put her hand out and just want to do it. She’d fall asleep holding my fingers. She was always clinging to me.”
