I turned to crime when my man was left brain damaged in random train beating – I was forced to raise my baby in prison
THE metal bunch of keys rattled together as the huge, concrete door behind her banged shut.
Having given birth just 12 weeks before – serving a seven-year prison sentence is not the place Molly Ellis, 32 expected to find herself.
The only place she wanted to be was at home, bonding with her newborn daughter, Isla.
But her crime was considered so severe that the judge said that no compassionate circumstances would be placed on this young mum-of-two.
She’d be doing hard time, baby or not.
It had been the unresolved trauma of watching her partner get beaten to a pulp by a street gang and left with life-altering brain damage that had sent Molly spiralling down a dark path.
Molly met Michael Ogbeuehi when she was just 15 years old – and Michael was 18.
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Molly says: “We were on Southend High Street and the first thing I noticed was this guy standing with a gorgeous dog.
“I had to just go over and say hello.
“He told me that the dog’s name was Shine and we got chatting quickly. He seemed really kind with a great personality – and despite there being a bit of an age difference, we just hit it off.”
Shortly after meeting Michael became Molly’s first boyfriend. After moving in together, Molly soon discovered she was pregnant.
“I was only 16, still a child myself,” she says.
“But I knew straight away that Michael would be the most loving and supportive dad and it gave me hope.”
It was 29th May 2009 when a heavily pregnant Molly, craving olives from Nando’s – and Michael went out to eat there.
Boarding a train into town from Southend station, nothing could have prepared the couple for the fate that was ahead of them.
Having got a seat, Molly needed to use the toilet and the pair moved to a different carriage to find one, with Michael in front.
As they went through the carriage, a large group of youth emerged – and wouldn’t move out of the way to let the couple pass.
Michael asked one of the boys to move their leg so they could get through but the innocent request saw the gang set upon him.
Watching on, Molly was powerless as Michael fell to the floor, receiving multiple kicks in the head from the men in the group.
“I just froze,” she says.
“I was completely powerless – I was worried they’d start on me and hurt the baby, but I was equally terrified for Michael.”
What lasted just a minute seemed like a lifetime for Molly.
Once the brutal attack ended Michael visited A&E but was given the all clear and sent home.
A week later, on 6th June during a visit to her parents’ house in Southend – Molly went into labour. She tried to reach Michael on the phone but couldn’t.
“This just wasn’t like him,” Molly says.
“Something had to be really wrong because he’d never have missed the birth of our baby.”
After giving birth to baby Ava, Molly couldn’t enjoy the moment because she was too worried about Michael.
Just 24 hours later, she returned to the house with a friend to find Michael laying on the bed unconscious.
Hospital tests at Queen’s hospital in Romford, a specialist hospital for Neurology, then showed that Michael had suffered extensive brain damage that meant he would have little quality of life anymore.
On being asked whether or not to keep him on a life-support machine – Molly chose not to give up on the new father.
But when he finally woke up, it was clear that the Michael she knew and loved had gone.
There were times that I just wanted to end it all
Molly Ellis
He couldn’t function whatsoever; he couldn’t walk, or talk but deep down Molly knew he still recognized her and somewhere in there was the Michael she had always loved.
As a result of the events of that day, Molly suffered trauma she couldn’t endure.
She adds: “I was in a lot of pain on the inside, I was grieving the love I’d lost and lacking emotions for my baby.
“Desperately, I just wanted to be one of those normal mums who go to Mother and Baby groups, but things just went too far.
“I’d stay out until all hours, meet unsuitable men and hang around in rough gangs.”
Lacking a vital bond with her baby girl after concentrating on Michael’s condition, Molly found herself plummeting into a dangerous downward spiral.
“It was like I just didn’t care anymore,” Molly says.
“I got in with the wrong crowd – and found myself looking for the love that I’d lost from Michael in totally the wrong places.”
“When I found myself caught up in fraud in a VIP car company I was working for years later, trying to put through a fake transaction – I didn’t think I’d get caught.”
But Molly was wrong. She got found out. At Snaresbrook Crown Court, along with the owner of the company – she was convicted of conspiracy to defraud with a custodial sentence to serve of seven years.
And Molly’s sentence was further complicated by her family situation.
“I’d met a really bad guy , got into a toxic relationship and got pregnant again,” she says.
“The day I was in court, I had only given birth a few weeks before on 28th December 2016.”
On facing a prison stretch, Molly had a difficult decision to make on whether to take her newborn into prison with her or risk losing her bond with another child.
Her mind was made up; 12-week-old baby Isla would be going to prison too.
And the thud came of that prison door, she was holding her tiny baby girl in her arms, baffled about their fate in HMP Bronzefield, the same prison as Rose West, which was now sealed.
“There were times that I just wanted to end it all,” Molly admits.
“It all felt so hopeless. I had Isla with me while Ava stayed with my family – but what kind of life was this for my daughter?
“For all intents and purposes, Isla and I had everything we needed; we were never short of nappies or food – and were generally well looked after.
“But it wasn’t as if I could just pop to a clothes shop and treat her to a pretty little dress. We were confined and I felt stifled.
“But we did get the bonding time which I’d lacked with Ava.
CAN I TAKE MY BABY TO PRISON?
A prisoner with a child under 18 months old can apply to bring their child to prison with them.
Social Services arrange for children over 18 months to be cared for (for example by the prisoner’s parents, or fostering).
- The prisoner can apply for a space in a mother and baby unit when they enter prison.
- An admissions board will decide if it’s the best thing for the child.
- If there are no places in the prison the mother first goes to, they may be offered a place in another unit.
- If there are no spaces in any unit, arrangements must be made for the child to be cared for outside prison.
- If the mother is refused a place they can appeal – the prison will explain how.
- Separation plans are made when the mother enters prison if the child will reach 18 months before her sentence is over.
“When she was almost seven months old, I knew that she’d had enough of a life in jail – and I handed her back to my parents too.”
After being moved to an open prison to finish her sentence, Molly was released on 20th Jan 2020 and reunited with her children.
Since then, her drive and positivity has helped turn her life around completely.
She now runs ‘Project Accountability’ a service to help convicts and ex-convicts be rehabilitated into the workplace, helping around 150 people a year.
Ava is now the same age as Molly was when she met Michael – a loving father that she missed out of having.
“I still see Michael, but can’t speak, he can’t walk or talk,” Molly says.
“I’ve tried to teach him how to say ‘Ava’ which he struggles with.
“The thought has gone through my mind if I made a mistake keeping the life support machine on for him – but I did what I thought was right at the time. No-one was ever convicted of his attack.
“I am now living a life where I truly get to make a difference to people like me who have found themselves in a difficult place in life.
“l I want to see the project continue to flourish so I can be the kind of mum my girls are truly proud of.
“It’s been a long journey, but it’s made me who I am today.”