Foster daughter abused by ‘Britain’s most sadistic mum’ for 17 YEARS found dead aged 35
A FOSTER daughter abused by “Britain’s most sadistic mum” for 17 YEARS has been found dead aged 35.
Tragic Victoria Spry suffered horrific physical and mental torture at the hands of evil Eunice Spry.
Eunice forced Victoria and two other children in her care to eat their own excrement and vomit as part of a sickening pattern of abuse stretching across decades.
She also rammed sticks down the children's throats, rubbed their faces with sandpaper and locked them naked in rooms for weeks at a time.
Victoria and her siblings were also battered and attacked with hot pokers, machetes and cricket bats and had their heads held under water.
She endured 17 years of torture before she escaped and plucked up the courage to go to police.
Jehovah's Witness Eunice was jailed for 14 years in April 2007, reduced to 12 on appeal - and was released in 2014.
'LAST HORROR CASE'
Victoria tragically passed away at the age of 35, it was confirmed today.
Her death is not being treated as suspicious and an inquest is expected to open later this week.
Paying tribute, her foster brother Christopher said he wanted her to be remembered for her mission to help children.
He told the BBC: “The work she was doing with the Gloucestershire Safeguarding Board and social services was because she wanted ours to be the last 'horror case' for Gloucestershire.
“I think her legacy will be the work she was doing to help the next wave of social workers to spot cases like ours earlier on.”
YOU'RE NOT ALONE
EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.
It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society - from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.
It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.
And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.
Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.
That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.
The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.
Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others... You're Not Alone.
If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:
- CALM, , 0800 585 858
- Heads Together,
- Mind, , 0300 123 3393
- Papyrus,, 0800 068 41 41
- Samaritans, , 116 123
Despite the horrific abuse she suffered, Victoria went on to become a consultant with social services in Gloucestershire.
Speaking in 2015, she said she wanted to draw on her own experience to help further child protection studies.
Victoria said: “My past helped me enormously.
“It is really nice to be going to the same office where I was let down as a little one, now as a young woman helping other children.”
She later published book Tortured in 2015 which detailed her horrific childhood experiences.
Victoria added: “I was offered the opportunity to write the book nine years ago when Eunice was found guilty but I turned that away because it was the worst time possible."
But she later changed her mind after her brother and sister opened up about their experiences, and described writing the book as a "liberating experience".
'WORST CASE IN 40 YEARS'
Victoria escaped from Eunice when she was allowed to accompany her younger brother to Jehovah's Witness meetings in Tewkesbury, aged 17.
She broke down and told everything to a young couple in the group who smuggled her out the house just before Christmas 2004.
It took three weeks to build up the courage to tell the police.
Jehovah's Witness Eunice Spry, now 76, of Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, was convicted of 26 charges of child abuse against children in her foster care in April 2007.
She was sentenced to 14 years' imprisonment and ordered to pay £80,000 costs.
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In sentencing, the judge told Spry that it was the "worst case in his 40 years practising law".
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Her conviction later prompted an apology from Gloucestershire County Council, who admitted there had been "shortcomings" in its care system.
Vital information which could have alerted social workers to the abuse was not shared by the various bodies involved.
If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, please call the Samaritans on (free) 116123