Mother condemned: Baby hidden in drawer for three years

Mother condemned: Baby hidden in drawer for three years

A mother who kept her daughter in a drawer under her bed for almost three years was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison in Great Britain. The case that shocked the public was negotiated in front of the Chester Crown Court in the northwest of England. The judge said that the child, who was discovered a few weeks before her third birthday, had suffered a "lifelong death penalty" that resulted from her mother's "terrible secret".

shocking discovery of the child

The toddler not mentioned by name was found in a neglected state, according to the PA Media news agency. She had matted hair, rashes and some deformities when the authorities were called to the family's house in Cheshire. The Court heard that the mother admitted four cases of child abuse and hid the little girl from her partner and other children who regularly stayed in the family house.

judge speaks about the cruelty of the acts

Richter Steven Everett commented on the mother's actions and found: "What they did is hardly to be grasped. You have withheld any love, every attention, any interaction with others, an appropriate nutrition and urgently needed medical care." The judge further explained that the consequences for the child were both physically and mentally and socially catastrophic.

The child in care and recovery

The girl who lives in foster families is described as "intelligent" and begins to slowly come to life from the state of "lifelong death". During the medical examination in the hospital, it was found that the child was considerably malnourished and dehydrated. It was reported that it was only fed by a syringe with milk -containing porridge and had an untreated palate.

inadequate supervision and the discovery by the partner

The indictment explained that the daughter was kept in a drawer in the bedroom without being brought outside and without any social interaction with other people. The mother's partner discovered the child by chance when he returned to the house to use the bathroom and heard noise from one of the bedrooms. After alerting the family, the social services came to the house where they found the child in the drawer.

emotional cold of the mother

When the mother was confronted, she showed "no emotions and looked indifferent," reported a social worker in court. "It became an overwhelming horror that I was probably the only other face that the child saw apart from that of her mother." In an interview with the police, the mother stated that she did not know that she was pregnant and that she was "really scared" at birth.

difficult circumstances and consequences for the family

The defense argued that the mother's mental health, her volatile relationship with the child's abusive father and the Covid Lockdown had led to an "extraordinary situation". The other children who were well looked after no longer live with their mother.