Mother in England sentenced • The three-year-old was born in a bathtub – could neither crawl nor walk
It was in British Cheshire that it all unfolded last year. A visitor heard what sounded like the sound of a baby and called for help. The little girl was visibly dehydrated, had matted hair and a cleft palate and was being held captive by her mother in a wooden box under the bed, reports The Guardian.
The social worker who was first on the scene testifies to the shock in court. The mother was totally indifferent to the situation and no one else ever saw the child during the three years.
– I looked at her mother and asked: “Is this where you have her?” The mother answered matter-of-factly: “Yes, in the box.”
Couldn’t communicate or crawl
The baby girl was born in the bathtub at home in March 2020 but has never been registered. A doctor describes for BBC that the three-year-old’s development could be equated with a ten-month-old infant. She could not crawl, walk, or communicate in any way. Her feet were swollen and twisted in an abnormal position and she lacked muscle mass.
– She had never seen daylight or felt fresh air and did not react to her own name, says prosecutor Rachel Worthington in court.
Left in the wooden box on Christmas Eve
The mother allegedly gave the girl cereal soaked in milk with a syringe and changed her diaper. But other than that, she received no human interaction or care. She could be completely alone in the wooden box for long periods of time.
The Guardian writes, among other things, that the mother could go to work and leave her other children at school while the baby remained in the box. Once she allegedly left the little girl on Christmas Eve while she went to her parents with her other children.
– This child has never received a birthday present or a Christmas present. She has had no interaction with any of her siblings, said prosecutor Rachel Worthington.