A young mother whose baby died after she was left alone for 6 days has pled guilty to manslaughter at a court in England.
Asiah, who was 20-months-old, died after 18-year-old Verphy Kudi left their accommodation and went to parties around the city of London. The baby died from hunger and dehydration. She returned to find the baby unresponsive and called 999 saying that her baby would not wake up.
The mother and her daughter had been living in a residential complex run by the organisation YMCA DownsLink, which looks after vulnerable young families in Brighton. Staff at the complex were aware that the mother had left but did not seem to realise that the baby had been left alone to fend for herself. Questions are now being asked as to whether they did enough to protect the child from someone who was clearly incapable of caring properly for their child.
CCTV showed the mother partying in London and Coventry, 150 miles from where her baby was left.
The mother's sister told reporters:
"This whole situation has completely broken my family. It might be entertainment for the rest of the world but it's totally shattered us. We are heartbroken and angry at how Verphy behaved. Verphy had been estranged from the family for quite a long time and we had minimal contact with her. We have spoken to her and we're still not clear what she was doing for those six days, who she was with and why she left like that? Who the hell knows? We can't understand it. As a family we now want to be left alone to grieve and try and understand what's happened."
YMCA Downslink said in a statement:
"This tragedy has shocked us all. Our staff, particularly those who work the complex, have been and continue to be, deeply affected by it. Verphy Kudi and her daughter, Asiah had been living at the independent living flats, for 11 weeks, when Asiah died. We will be working with the Safeguarding Practice Review to understand any lessons that can be learned from this tragedy. Our sympathies and thoughts are with the family and everyone affected by this tragic event."
The mother will likely be sentenced to prison in May after reports from psychiatrists and social-workers are assessed by the presiding judge.
[h/t: Daily Mail]
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