In England, a mother was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for “extreme negligence”. She kept her 3-year-old daughter in a drawer since she was born.
She had never seen the light of day, did not respond to her own name, did not speak, did not walk. In England, an almost 3-year-old girl had been living in a drawer since birth when she was discovered by a friend of her mother in February 2023. The latter was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for “neglect extreme”.
According to information from the BBC, the child was born in March 2020, in the bathtub of the family home, located in Cheshire, a county in the northwest of England. The mother told police she didn't know she was pregnant and was “really scared” when she gave birth.
She hid the baby in the box spring drawer of a bed and only came back to feed him or change his diaper from time to time. The respondent assured that her daughter was not kept permanently in the drawer and that it was never closed. For her, this child “was not part of the family”.
Over time, she returned to work and therefore left the little girl alone for longer and longer periods. At the same time, this woman continued to take care of her other children normally, without however telling them of the existence of their sister.
In February 2023, a friend of the mother heard the victim when he went upstairs to use the toilet. It was he who put an end to the ordeal of this little girl who had a cleft palate (a facial malformation, editor's note), was severely malnourished and dehydrated.
The development of a 10 month old baby
Medical tests showed that she is not able to walk, crawl or talk. His muscle mass is low and his feet appear swollen, in an abnormal position. According to the prosecutor, the neglect she suffered was such that her development, at almost 3 years old, was that of a 10-month-old baby.
In court, the social worker who first arrived on the scene shared her “shock” at the lack of emotion expressed by the mother when she confronted her. “I asked if anyone else had ever seen [l’enfant] ? She said, “No.” It was an overwhelming horror to know that I was probably the only other face that [la fille] had seen outside of her mother’s,” she said.
Denouncing behavior that “beyond comprehension,” the judge, Steven Everett, sentenced the mother to seven years and six months in prison. The little one was placed in foster care. One of her caregivers testified at the trial, saying the child had to learn to smile and that she “didn't know what food looked like.”
