Frankie Smith released on licence after six years in prison
Frankie Smith, the mother of 16-month-old Star Hobson, has been released from prison on licence after serving six years for causing or allowing her daughter’s death. The case has renewed attention on how Smith’s sentence was calculated, following a court ruling that she should have been sent to a young offenders’ institution because she was under 21.
Star was murdered by Smith’s girlfriend, Savannah Brockhill, in Keighley in September 2020, after months of assaults and neglect. Brockhill received a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years; Smith was cleared of murder and manslaughter, but her sentence for causing or allowing a child’s death was increased from eight to 12 years. The change in where she should serve her sentence reduced the period before she could be considered for release from two-thirds to half, and licence conditions could return her to prison if breached.
- Frankie Smith has been released on licence after six years in prison.
- Her sentence was recalculated after a ruling about where she should serve it.
- Savannah Brockhill is serving life for murdering Star Hobson.
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Star Hobson was a 16-month-old girl who was killed in September 2020 by her mother's girlfriend, Savannah Brockhill, in Keighley, West Yorkshire. The child had suffered months of assaults and neglect before her death.
Star's mother, Frankie Smith, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child but was cleared of murder and manslaughter. She received a 12-year prison sentence, increased from the original eight-year term handed down by the court.
A court has since ruled that Smith should have been sentenced in a young offenders' institution because she was under 21 at the time. This change to her sentencing category affected when she could be considered for release. The case has raised questions about how child protection failures are handled within the justice system.
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Smith was not the perpetrator of the fatal violence—that was Brockhill's actions. Whilst her culpability in failing to protect her child is serious, the law rightly distinguishes this from direct perpetration, and her conviction reflects that distinction. The court correctly determined she should have been sentenced in a young offenders' institution, altering her release calculation to half her sentence; she has now served that period. Licence conditions permit return to prison if breached, maintaining public safeguarding.
The case against
Smith bears profound responsibility for Star's death. Over months, she witnessed or enabled sustained abuse and neglect of her own child by her partner, failing in the most fundamental duty a parent has. The law may distinguish between perpetrator and enabler, but the moral reality is that Star suffered in her care and died whilst under her responsibility. Releasing her after only six years—particularly given that the reduction came from a technical application of sentencing rules rather than a reassessment of her culpability—raises serious concerns about whether the outcome truly reflects the gravity of her failure to protect her child, and whether someone who failed so catastrophically in safeguarding can be trusted in society.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Toddler Star Hobson’s mother is released from prison six years after she allowed the 16-month-old to be murdered by her bouncer girlfriend”.