Neighbours in shock after killing of six-year-old child

NEIGHBOURS on a close-knit estate are struggling to come to terms with the shocking and tragic murder of a mother and her six-year-old daughter.
The bodies of Nicole Batten, 34, and Ukleigha Batten-Froggat were discovered on Thursday after police smashed into their home in Somers Town. The authorities had been alerted because Ukleigha had not shown up at school throughout the week – she was last seen by teachers when she was picked up from school the previous Friday. Police imposed a news blackout on the double-killing until yesterday (Wednesday) when they appealed for help in tracking down their prime suspect who, it is understood, was living with the family and had just been released from prison.
A post-mortem examination carried out at St Pancras mortuary revealed Ms Batten had died from a stab wound and her daughter from asphyxiation. Last night (Wednesday) friends staged a vigil at Levita House in Ossulston Street where the family lived. They built a shrine with teddy bears, pictures and flowers.
Best friend Frankie Birey, 42, said: “She was a live wire, you know – one of us. The whole place has lost now that she’s gone. You don’t expect it on your doorstep.”
Christian Lambert, 31, spoke of the horror felt by all in the tight-knit community when he added: “Why kill the child, too? The child is innocent, whatever else happened.”
Staff at the Hampden Nursery, in Polygon Road, where Ukleigha attended, had been asked not to speak to the press by the Town Hall.
Ms Batten’s two other daughters Sirscha, eight, and Shinane, 10, who live with their father in Ireland, have also lost their mother.
CCTV from the Costcutter supermarket in Chalcot Street, where staff say they remember seeing the pair alive last week, has been recovered by police, who have also conducted door-to-door enquiries.
Other neighbours remembered Ms Batten as a friendly, bubbly woman who was occasionally barred from nearby pubs for raucous behaviour but would never hurt anyone or let people walk over her. Landlord Brian Cowpe, of the Somers Town Coffee House said: “I’m outraged at the news – especially when it’s a little girl.” Gail Ambrose, 33, who grew up with Ms Batten in south London, added: “Last time I saw her was before Christmas. Back in 2002 there was a man who was released from prison who stayed with Nicole, but no one had seen him since.”
Yesterday (Wednesday) Mark Nicholas, 29, was arrested at a house in Hackney.
Labour ward councillor Roger Robinson, who was told about the tragedy on Friday, said: “It’s a terrible tragedy for a young lady to die like that. I’m deeply upset and stunned about this.”