A woman who concealed her infant daughter in a drawer beneath her bed until the child approached three years of age has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison.
Warning: Content may be distressing
When social workers discovered the young girl, she presented with tangled hair, physical deformities, rashes, and, according to her foster carer, “did not recognize her own name.”
Chester Crown Court was informed that the mother had kept the baby hidden within the drawer of her divan bed to prevent her other children and her boyfriend, who frequently visited, from learning of the child’s existence.
A social worker recounted in a statement that upon observing the child seated in the drawer and inquiring with the mother if this was where she stored her daughter, the woman “responded matter-of-factly, ‘yes, in the drawer.'”
The social worker expressed her “shock” that the mother, who cannot be identified to preserve her children’s anonymity, displayed no emotional response and “seemed completely nonchalant about the situation.”
In delivering the sentence, Honorary Recorder of Chester, Judge Steven Everett, remarked that the mother’s conduct “defies belief.”
The child had been “deprived” of “any love, genuine affection, proper attention, social interaction, an adequate diet, and essential medical care.”
Judge Everett emphasized that the experience was “devastating” for the child—”physically, psychologically, and socially,” stating she had undergone “almost a living death.”
The mother neglected to seek medical assistance for the child’s cleft palate, failed to provide sufficient food and hydration, and fed her milky Weetabix using a syringe.
Sion ap Mihangel, the prosecutor, indicated that when the child was first admitted to a hospital, she had a developmental age equivalent to that of a zero to ten-month-old infant, and was severely malnourished and dehydrated.
The toddler was left unattended while the mother escorted her other children to school and attended work, and also when she stayed with relatives during the Christmas period, Mr. ap Mihangel reported.
It was revealed in court that once the mother’s boyfriend began staying overnight, the child was relocated to another room and was subsequently left there alone.
Mr. Everett stated that her “horrific” secret was uncovered “by mere coincidence” when her partner returned home one morning to utilize the restroom after the mother had departed and stumbled upon the child.
He informed other family members, leading to social services investigating the matter later that day and discovering the child in the bed drawer.
The foster carer remarked in a statement that the girl “did not understand her own name when we called her.”
During her interview with police, the woman claimed she was unaware of her pregnancy and expressed that she felt “terrified” upon giving birth.
The woman entered a guilty plea in October to four counts of child cruelty, which reflected her negligence in obtaining necessary medical attention for the child, abandonment, malnutrition, and overall neglect.
