“A life of the living dead”: her baby locked in a drawer for 3 years, a mother sentenced to 7 years in prison

A mother who kept her baby daughter hidden in a drawer for the first three years of her life has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for “extreme neglect”. The child, who prosecutors say had “never known daylight or fresh air”, was only discovered when a visitor to the family's Cheshire home heard her crying .

Parents and companion never knew anything

The judge said the defendant had “deprived this little girl of all love, affection, attention, interaction with others, a proper diet and much-needed medical care. An intelligent little girl who is taking back maybe slowly coming to life, after an undead existence,” he added. The court indicated that the mother had not only managed to hide the existence of the baby from her brothers and sisters by locking him in the drawer of her box spring bed, but also from her companion, despite his regular presence at the family home. The prosecutor's office stressed that the child did not know her own name and that she had spent the first three years of her life mostly left to her own devices and without enough food.

The body of a 7 month old baby

The court also specified that the little girl suffered from severe malnutrition, to the point of resembling a seven-month-old baby and not a three-year-old child, and that all she had received was Weetabix mixed with milk and administered using a syringe. The child was found with matted hair, deformities, rashes and various illnesses for which she never received treatment. Her ordeal ended when a visitor to the house heard a noise upstairs and found her on the bed. A social worker was called to the house after the discovery and described “absolute horror” at what she saw when she entered the bedroom.

“Nothing worse seen in 46 years”

When the latter questioned the alleged mother and asked her: “Is this where you keep her?” The mother replied matter-of-factly: “Yes, in the drawer.” “I was shocked that the mother showed no emotion,” the social services employee told the magistrates. The court was told of the serious developmental problems suffered by the child, who is now in foster care due to the neglect she suffered.

In an interview with police, the mother said she didn't know she was pregnant and was “really scared” when she gave birth. In his eyes, the baby “wasn’t part of the family.” “I don’t remember such a serious case in 46 years,” sighed the judge, before sentencing the unworthy mother to 7 years in prison.

This sad story echoes the case of little Séréna, a baby who remained for 23 months in the trunk of a car in the garage of a family in Dordogne, until her discovery in 2013. Following a trial resoundingly, she was sentenced on appeal to 5 years in prison.