Baby kept in a DRAWER for almost three years ‘had never seen daylight’ as mum jailed over ‘extreme neglect’

A mother was imprisoned for “extreme neglect” after she kept her infant in a drawer beneath her bed for nearly three years.

Before being discovered a few weeks prior to her third birthday, the child had never seen daylight.

She was found with rashes, abnormalities, and matted hair at the family’s Cheshire house.

The “wicked” mother concealed the infant in her divan bed’s drawer from her siblings.

Additionally, she concealed the secret from her companion, who frequently visited the house.

To preserve her children’s identity, the woman’s name cannot be revealed.

She admitted to child cruelty at Chester Crown Court and was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison.

Despite the baby’s cleft palate, the mother chose not to seek medical help.

Using a syringe to provide her milky Weetabix, she failed to provide the child with adequate food and drink.

The prosecutor, Sion ap Mihangel, stated: “She was stored in a bedside drawer.

“She was not taken outside, not socialised, no interaction with anybody else.”

When the youngster was rushed to the hospital, her developmental age was between nought and ten months.

The court heard that girl was “significantly” dehydrated and malnourished.

While the mother went to work, took her older children to school, and spent Christmas with family, the infant was left alone.

The mother left the infant alone in a separate room when her boyfriend began staying over.

‘OVERWHELMING HORROR’

One morning, after the woman had left, the boyfriend returned to use the restroom and discovered the baby.

He entered one of the bedrooms after hearing a commotion and saw the infant.

Social services rushed to the property after the man left the house and informed family members.

A social worker asked the mother whether that was where she kept her daughter after discovering the infant in the bed’s drawer.

“Yes, in the drawer,” the employee informed the court in a matter-of-fact manner.

“I was surprised that the mother seemed indifferent to the situation and showed no emotion.

“It became an overwhelming horror that I was probably the only other face the child had seen apart from her mother’s.”

‘TRULY DEVASTATING’

When a “truly devastating” testimony from the child’s foster caregiver was read aloud to the court, two seasoned police officers broke down in tears.

The caregiver stated: “It became very apparent she did not know her own name when we called her.”

The mother claimed in an interview that she was “really scared” when she gave birth and that she had no idea she was pregnant.

She said she never closed the drawer and didn’t always keep the baby in it.

However, she admitted to the police that she had an abusive relationship with the child’s father and that the child was “not part of the family”.

According to the woman, she did not want the father to learn about the child.

‘STARVED OF LOVE’

Penalties, According to Judge Steven Everett, “What you did completely defies belief in my opinion.” It was unbelievably evil.

“You denied the young child any love, appropriate affection, or attention.

“Any social contact, a healthy food, and urgent medical care.

“Despite your best efforts to manage the situation, your horrible secret was accidentally revealed.

“The child’s physical, psychological, and social outcomes were nothing short of disastrous.

“She is an intelligent little girl who is now perhaps slowly coming to life from what was almost a living death in that room.”

CHILLING NEGLECT

Defense attorney Matthew Dunford said that a “exceptional set of circumstances” had occurred.

He said that the woman had struggled throughout the COVID-19 lockout and had poor mental health.

The mom and the child’s father had a tumultuous relationship, Dunford continued.

As Dunford informed the court that her other children no longer resided with her, the woman brushed away her tears.

Last month, she entered a guilty plea to four charges of child abuse.

The charges included general maltreatment, malnourishment, abandonment, and her failure to seek basic medical care for the youngster.

BROUGHT TO JUSTICE

“This child has never received a birthday present, a Christmas present, or anything to recognize these days,” stated Rachel Worthington, a senior prosecutor with the CPS.

“She hasn’t spoken to any of her siblings. She had never experienced daylight or clean air.

“When she was first discovered, she didn’t react to her own name,” Worthington continued.

“The Crown Prosecution Service is not responsible for determining the mother’s motivation, which is yet unclear.

“It is our responsibility to hold the guilty party accountable. Now, that has been completed.

“It is the profound hope of the CPS that the victim in this case recovers sufficiently to live as full a life as possible.”

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