Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Mum, 18 left baby to starve while she partied
Little girl died after 6 days home alone
A MUM whose baby died after she left her home alone for six days while she celebrated her birthday has admitted killing the little girl.
Verphy Kudi walked out of her flat on her 18th birthday – and left 20-monthold daughter Asiah to fend for herself.
While Kudi went to one party after another up and down the country, her daughter was left to starve and dehydrate. She also caught influenza.
A postmortem examination concluded the tot had died from neglect.
Data gathered by Sussex Police showed Kudi had been to parties in London and in Coventry and Solihull, West Midlands, before returning to her Brighton flat nearly a week later to find Asiah unresponsive.
She dialled 999 and told a call handler her baby would not wake up.
But tragic Asiah was pronounced dead when she arrived at hospital.
Police were alerted when staff at the mother and baby unit where Kudi was living reviewed CCTV footage.
It showed her leaving on December 5 and returning on December 11. Kudi, now aged 19, entered a plea of guilty to manslaughter at Lewes crown court yesterday. She held her hands to her face after the charge was read out.
Wearing a plain black top and black trousers with a blue face-mask, the teenager wiped away a tear as her father watched from the public gallery.
Judge Christine Laing QC ordered that all social services records relating to the case be disclosed to the defence before Kudi is sentenced on May 28.
After the hearing, Senior Investigating officer, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Wolstenholme, said: “This was a particularly distressing case for my team and me to investigate and has caused great sorrow amongst Verphy’s family and the many agencies that have supported Verphy and Asiah.
“We note the guilty plea entered in this case, and continue to prepare for Verphy’s sentencing in May.”
A safeguarding review has been launched by Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership.