Mother denies killing son ‘by not managing asthma’
THE Birmingham mother of a sevenyear-old boy who died in 2017 has denied killing the youngster through gross negligence, with a trial now set to take place next year.
Laura Heath, of Little Clover Close, Nechells, pleaded not guilty to gross negligence manslaughter and four counts of child cruelty when she appeared at Birmingham Crown Court by video link from HMP Peterborough. The 39-year-old is alleged to have unlawfully killed Hakeem Hussain, who was found dead by paramedics at a house in nearby Cook Street on November 26, 2017.
The particulars of the manslaughter charge, read out in court, are that she is alleged to have breached her duty of care to Hakeem in that she “failed to manage his asthma” by “failing to administer medication, twice daily, failure to ensure an adequate supply of medication”.
The charge alleges she had failed “by exposing him to known asthma triggers; smoke, dust and low temperature, and impairing your own ability, by smoking heroin and crack cocaine, and failing to seek medical help when clear his asthma symptoms were not under control”.
The child cruelty allegations date to between either April 12 and August 23, 2017, or September 8 and November 26, 2017.
A date for her trial, which will take place before a High Court judge, was set for March 12, 2022.
Heath was remanded to appear back at the Birmingham court for a pre-trial hearing next year. Hakeem, of Long Acre, Nechells, was described by his school’s headteacher shortly after his death as “a most beautiful little boy, a great friend to many staff and children, with a wicked sense of humour and an infectious giggle”.