Push for 100k names on Maya's Law petition

CALL FOR MORE PROTECTION AFTER MURDER OF TWO-YEAR-OLD

- By Kristy Dawson

Gemma Chappell and her sister Rachael Walls

THE Government will respond to a petition calling for a new law to protect children after a toddler was murdered.

Maya Chappell, two, died in 2022 after being violently shaken by her mother’s boyfriend Michael Daymond.

Daymond was convicted of murdering Maya at her home in Shotton Colliery, County Durham. Carr was found guilty of child cruelty by neglect and allowing the death of a child.

The pair were sentenced at Teesside Crown Court in December 2023. Daymond was sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 20 years and Carr was jailed for nine years.

Following Maya’s death, Gemma Chappell, who is aunt to Maya's father James, 26, created a petition calling for a law which discloses a parent or caregiver's history. The petition, which has been named ‘Maya's Law’, has 14,000 signatures.

Any petitions which are signed more than 10,000 times will be responded to by the Government. Petitions which receive 100,000 signatures will be considered for debate in Parliament.

Gemma, 48, a police officer for Durham Constabulary, has been helped by her sister Rachael Walls, 34. She told the Sunday Sun: “I’m just over the moon. For me and Rachael, it's the best Christmas present we can have.

“This year we will be able to say look what we have done - look what legacy we are making for Maya. I would like to think I will get a good response from them (the Government).