A young mother who left her baby alone for 6 days and the toddler died, has pled guilty to manslaughter at an English court.
The tragic death of a toddler caused by the neglect of her own mother has broken too many hearts.
Back in December 2019, the 20-months-old baby Asiah passed away after her then-18-year-old mother Verphy Kudi left their housing and went to parties across the city of London to celebrate her birthday.
As a result of hunger and dehydration, the toddler died. When the mother returned home, she found the baby unresponsive and called 999 saying that her child would not wake up.
The toddler was rushed to Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital but was confirmed dead on arrival and a post-mortem examination and forensic tests found that Asiah’s death was the result of neglect.
The two of them had a home in a residential complex run by the organization YMCA DownsLink, which takes care of vulnerable young families in Brighton. Employees at the complex were familiar with the fact that the mother had left but they didn’t seem to be aware that the baby girl was left on her own.
Now, questions are being raised if they did enough to protect the baby from a person that was obviously not capable of raising and taking care of a child.
The mother was caught on CCTV partying in London and Coventry, which is 150 miles away from her home, where she left the baby.
Verphy Kudi’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.”
In a statement, YMCA Downslink noted:
“This tragedy has shocked us all. Our staff, particularly those who work at 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.”
Presumably, Verphy Kudy will be imprisoned in May after the presiding judge evaluates the reports from psychiatrists and social workers.
