Drug addict jailed over death of son
A MOTHER convicted of the manslaughter of her seven-year-old son who was found dead in a freezing garden after suffering an asthma attack has been jailed for 20 years.
Drug addict Laura Heath, 40, neglected her son Hakeem Hussain at a home in central Birmingham in November 2017.
In his young life, he had already been exposed to heroin and crack cocaine.
The trial heard Hakeem, who was known to authorities, died alone and ‘gasping for air’ in the garden of the property where his mother was staying. It is thought the effects of second-hand smoke had caused Hakeem at some point in the night to suffer an asthma attack.
Unable to wake his mother, it is thought he then went outside for fresh air, where he was found the next morning, still clutching a leaf. Her parenting was branded ‘catastrophic and deplorable’ by the judge, reports the BBC.
Heath, of no fixed address, admitted four counts of child cruelty including two counts of ‘wilfully neglecting her son by failing to provide proper medical supervision in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury to health,’ and two offences of ‘wilfully ill-treating’ Hakeem by exposing him to heroin and crack cocaine.
The court heard Heath’s drug addiction was spiralling out of control in the lead up to Hakeem’s tragic death. She had repurposed
one of his inhalers as a makeshift crack pipe and on the night of his death, she had smoked heroin before passing out in the same bed as Hakeem, who later began to suffer an asthma attack and was unable to wake his mother.
She denied a charge of gross negligence manslaughter but a jury took six hours and 20 minutes to find her guilty following a month-long trial at Coventry Crown Court.
Yesterday, Justice Dove sentenced her to 20 years, telling Heath she would spend two thirds of the term in custody before being eligible for release.
He confirmed he had lifted the sentence above the normal brackets to reflect the overall criminality, including the child cruelty offences. Heath burst into tears as her
punishment was announced.
Justice Dove paid tribute to Hakeem saying: “It’s clear in his short life he had been an inspiration of happiness and affection for the people who knew him and were fortunate to spend time with him.”
Addressing how Hakeem’s life was cut short, Justice Dove added: “The truth is in short that Hakeem died as a result of your deplorable negligence in caring for him as his mum. He died as a result of your catastrophic and deplorable parenting.”
Heath had neglected Hakeem’s asthma throughout 2017 as she prioritised her spiralling drug addiction, which she funded through sex work, stealing and borrowing money. She also disengaged with and lied to social services and school staff.