The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Woman ‘fatally poisoned’ girl with pesticide to kill bedbugs
Mother and ex-boyfriend indulged in drink-and-drug binge before subjecting infant to horrific violence
Crime editor
A MOTHER and her former boyfriend have been jailed for life for the murder of her son, who suffered more than 70 injuries during a night of violence and even had traces of cocaine in his system.
Alfie Philips was just 18 months old when his mother, Sian Hedges, 27, and her partner, Jack Benham, 35, both drug addicts, subjected him to an appalling and sustained attack in their caravan in Kent in November 2020.
The toddler died with “myriad bruises” and had fractures to his ribs, arms and legs.
During the trial, Maidstone Crown Court heard how the couple had killed Alfie during a drug and whisky-fuelled binge that had even resulted in cocaine being identified in his bloodstream.
On the night before Alfie died, Benham said Hedges went to buy drugs from their friend and repay her a £400 debt, and also to get mixers and drinks for their evening together in the caravan.
Hedges, of Yelverton, Devon, and Benham, of Hernhill, Kent, denied harming Alfie, but were convicted of murder by a unanimous verdict.
Sentencing them to life, Mr Justice Cavanagh, the judge, said: “Neither of you has told the truth about what happened. You have each blamed the other, claiming not to have seen the assaults taking place, let alone admitting to playing any part in them.”
He described Benham as the “prime mover” in the attacks and said Hedges played a “secondary role”, telling her: “You were at least to some extent a participant in the assaults – you certainly bit Alfie – and, furthermore, you encouraged and assisted Jack Benham in his assaults.
The judge went on: “It is impossible to avoid the conclusion that these terrible events would not have taken place were it not for the fact that you were taking crack cocaine or cocaine and that drugs had become the main focus of your lives.”
He said Hedges would have to spend a minimum of 19 years in prison before she would be considered eligible to apply for parole, while Benham would have to serve a minimum of 23 years.
In a victim impact statement read in
‘Rather than admitting what they had done, they both claimed they were not responsible’
court, Sam Phillips, Alfie’s father, said: “We still feel we deserve answers. I will never know the truth about what happened to my son. I never got to hear him say his first proper words, I never got to have a conversation with him, I was robbed of the opportunity of seeing him grow up.”
Commenting on the sentencing, Will Bodiam from CPS South East said: “This is an absolutely tragic case. Alfie was killed by the two people, one of whom was his own mother, who were responsible that night for looking after him and protecting him.
“Instead, they subjected him to a series of assaults during the course of that fateful night, leaving him with devastating injuries that he could not survive.
“Rather than admitting what they had done, they both claimed they were not responsible for the injuries inflicted on Alfie, even though they were both present during the time the attacks took place and could not account for what had happened to him, acknowledging that just a few hours earlier, he appeared absolutely fine.”
A WOMAN has denied killing an 11-yearold girl after allegedly using a poisonous substance to tackle bedbugs in her flat.
In a hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday, Jesmin Akter, 33, denied charges of manslaughter and importing a regulated substance.
On Nov 26 2021, the defendant is charged with importing a regulated substance, namely aluminium phosphide, from Italy without a licence.
She allegedly scattered pellets of the substance – which is a regulated poison – around her flat in Shadwell, east London, to tackle a bedbug problem that was rife in her block of flats.
The aluminium phosphide is alleged to have been activated by moisture to create the dangerous gas phosphine which travelled to the flat of an 11-yearold girl.
The schoolgirl who cannot be named for legal reasons, died in hospital on Dec 11 2021.
Ms Akter, who is on bail, faces a three-week trial from July 1 at the Old Bailey with a further hearing on Apr 19.
An earlier hearing at Thames magistrates’ court was told that the defendant had laid “three times” the prescribed amount of pellets around her flat.
Jane McIvor, the district judge, heard how Ms Akter evacuated herself and her family from the building that night.
Following the incident street specialist crime detectives were called in and Ms Akter was charged with manslaughter and importing a regulated substance.
Varinder Hayre, prosecuting, told the court the girl had died as a result of a poisonous substance called aluminium phosphide, which is designed for pest control on farmland to protect crops.
It is a regulated substance in the UK, which requires a license to possess and use it. Ms Hayre said the pesticide was bought while Ms Akter was visiting her brother in Italy in November 2021.