Carl Manning was born on October 31, 1972, in England. Little is publicly known about his early life or family background prior to the Victoria Climbié case. He worked as a bus driver for London Transport and was reportedly living a relatively quiet and obscure life until he met Marie‑Thérèse Kouao in 1999.

Manning became romantically involved with Kouao shortly after meeting her on one of his bus trips. She introduced herself as the mother of an eight‑year‑old girl named Anna, later identified as Victoria Climbié. In reality, Victoria was Kouao’s great‑niece, brought from the Ivory Coast under the guise of providing her with a better life. The trio soon settled in Manning’s one‑bedroom flat in Somerset Gardens, Tottenham.

Initially presented as a family unit, the situation quickly escalated into one of the worst instances of child abuse in the United Kingdom. Victoria became a scapegoat for Manning and Kouao’s anger and frustration, and she was subjected to increasingly brutal mistreatment, abuse, and deprivation. Neighbors and social services noticed warning signs, but a systemic failure in the social services and child protection system meant that Victoria remained in the hands of her abusers until her death.

The brutal murder of Victoria Climbié shook the United Kingdom and became a catalyst for sweeping reforms in child protection policies. Under the “care” of Carl Manning and Marie‑Thérèse Kouao, Victoria was starved, beaten, scalded, and bound for long periods, sometimes forced to sleep in a plastic bin liner in the bathtub. The abuse escalated sharply from the summer of 1999, after the trio began living in Manning’s one‑bedroom flat.

During Victoria’s time with Manning and Kouao, she suffered horrific and calculated cruelty. The couple would scald her with hot water, beat her with fists, belts, and other weapons, and tie her up for long stretches. She was often refused food and forced to eat like a dog, and was kept in a bin liner in the bathroom filled with her own waste. Despite countless warning signs — including hospital admissions and social services visits — authorities failed to remove Victoria from the couple’s care.

On February 24, 2000, after enduring months of abuse, Victoria was brought unconscious, hypothermic, and with signs of multiple organ failure, to North Middlesex Hospital and later transferred to St. Mary's Hospital. The attending staff were shocked at the sheer number of wounds and scars covering her body. A pathologist later counted 128 separate injuries, describing Victoria’s condition as the worst case of child abuse he had ever seen.

Victoria died on February 25, 2000. Her death sparked national outrage, leading to the arrest and conviction of both Carl Manning and Marie‑Thérèse Kouao. During his trial, Manning openly admitted to beating Victoria, referring to her in his diary as “Satan” and expressing disbelief at how long she had survived the abuse. He claimed that no matter how hard he hit her, Victoria refused to cry.

On January 12, 2001, both Manning and Kouao were convicted of murder and child cruelty and received life sentences. The judge condemned their cruelty and stated, “What Victoria endured was truly unimaginable. She died at both your hands, a lonely, drawn‑out death.” Manning was sent to HMP Wakefield, where he remains incarcerated. The death of Victoria Climbié became a pivotal moment in the United Kingdom, prompting profound reforms in child protection services and inspiring changes that continue to save countless vulnerable children today.