A preventable death and a prison sentence
A 13-year-old girl died from a treatable medical condition while her mother went to a pub. A Scottish court has now sentenced the mother, Sharon Goldie, to three years and six months in prison for child neglect, ruling that her repeated refusal to seek help directly led to her daughter’s death.
The teenager, Robyn Goldie, died on July 26, 2018, after developing peritonitis caused by a perforated duodenal ulcer. She had been visibly unwell for days. By July 24, according to evidence heard in court, she was pale, shivering, in pain, and asked her mother to call an ambulance. Goldie refused.
On the day Robyn died, the court heard that she was in significant pain. Instead of calling for medical help, Goldie gave her a painkiller and went to a pub. When she returned, Robyn was slumped on the sofa. Rather than dialling emergency services, Goldie and a friend went into the garden for drinks because, she later said, the weather was nice. Robyn died about an hour later.
During sentencing at the High Court, Lord Beckett said the decisions taken that afternoon showed a serious failure of care. He noted that medical intervention, if sought in time, could have saved Robyn’s life.
The ruling centres on culpable neglect—Scotland’s framework for dealing with serious failures by caregivers that put a child’s health and life at risk. The court’s finding was clear: Robyn’s condition was treatable, the warning signs were obvious, and the opportunities to get help were missed again and again.
Peritonitis from a perforated ulcer is a medical emergency. When an ulcer tears through the wall of the intestine, stomach contents leak into the abdominal cavity, triggering severe inflammation and infection. Surgery and antibiotics can be lifesaving, and outcomes are usually good when patients receive prompt hospital care. Delay, however, allows infection and shock to set in, rapidly closing the window for recovery.
In Robyn’s case, jurors and the judge focused on a timeline that stretched over several days. The key moments were stark: a child asking for an ambulance, a refusal to call one, and, finally, time spent drinking while the child’s condition deteriorated. Prosecutors argued these choices showed a reckless disregard for a clear medical emergency. The judge agreed, handing down a custodial sentence meant to reflect both the gravity of the neglect and the loss of a young life.
The court did not need complex medical debate to reach its verdict. The diagnosis—a perforated duodenal ulcer—wasn’t in dispute. Nor was the fact that timely treatment usually saves lives. What mattered legally was the failure to act: the refusal to get help when the child asked for it, the reliance on a painkiller instead of emergency care, and the decision to drink rather than dial 999 when danger was obvious.
Culpable neglect differs from more serious charges like homicide, but it still carries heavy penalties because it addresses a basic duty: parents and caregivers must protect children and seek medical help when needed. In this case, the court found that duty was broken in a way that led to a preventable death.
Why does this resonate beyond one family? Because the warning signs of a perforated ulcer are often unmistakable: severe abdominal pain that worsens with movement, a rigid or tender belly, fever, vomiting, and signs of shock such as paleness, cold sweats, or confusion. In children, these red flags can escalate quickly. When a child says, “I need an ambulance,” that is not a moment to wait and see.
Medical professionals often stress that you don’t need a diagnosis to call emergency services—you just need serious symptoms. Parents aren’t expected to be doctors. They are expected to act fast when a child is in clear distress, and to let professionals make the call on what happens next.
- Severe, worsening abdominal pain—especially with a rigid or tender stomach—is an emergency.
- Vomiting blood or passing black, tarry stools can signal internal bleeding.
- Fever, shivering, and a rapid heartbeat alongside abdominal pain can point to infection.
- Unusual drowsiness, confusion, or collapse are danger signs that demand immediate help.
Against that backdrop, the court’s reasoning is straightforward. Robyn signalled she needed emergency care. Her condition visibly worsened. The adult responsible for her safety chose not to call for help and left the home to drink. Even on returning to a child in distress, help was still not summoned. The chain of decisions was fatal.
Sentencing remarks in Scottish courts often weigh aggravating and mitigating factors. Here, the aggravating features included the extended period of illness, the child’s explicit request for an ambulance, and the choice to prioritise alcohol and socialising over urgent care. The sentence—three and a half years—reflects the law’s view that such neglect is not a lapse; it’s a grave breach of duty.
Public reaction to cases like this tends to split between anger and a simpler, sobering point: you don’t need to be certain to call for help. A false alarm costs time. Waiting on a real emergency can cost a life. Emergency operators are trained to triage. If it’s not serious, you’ll be told what to do next. If it is, that call can make the difference.
For parents and caregivers, the guidance is direct:
- Trust clear warning signs over guesswork. If a child is in severe pain, call for help.
- Don’t rely on home remedies or painkillers when symptoms suggest an emergency.
- When in doubt, speak to a medical professional or emergency operator—sooner, not later.
- If a child asks for an ambulance, take it seriously and act immediately.
From a legal standpoint in Scotland, failing to seek medical help when a child faces obvious risk can lead to prosecution for neglect. Courts look at what was foreseeable, what options were available, and whether a reasonable caregiver would have acted. In this case, the answers lined up against Goldie at every step.
There may be appeals and further legal motions—these cases rarely end with a single hearing. But the facts that moved the court won’t change: a treatable condition, a child in distress, and a series of refusals to do the one thing that could have saved her—make the call.
How a treatable illness became fatal
Perforated duodenal ulcers are uncommon in children, but they do occur. Risk factors can include infection with H. pylori bacteria or certain medications, but cause matters less than response. Once the gut wall is breached, infection spreads fast. The body’s defenses struggle to cope, and the clock starts ticking. Hospitals see this; they move quickly with scans, antibiotics, and often surgery. Time is the enemy, not the diagnosis.
That is why the court stressed timing. Robyn had days of symptoms. She asked for an ambulance two days before she died. On the day itself, her condition worsened, but an adult chose a pub over a phone call, and then a drink in the garden over emergency care. By the time help arrived, it was too late.
Tragedies like this tend to leave a single hard lesson. You don’t need certainty to act—just signs that something is seriously wrong. In any home, that rule saves lives. In this one, its absence cost one.