Mother played cooking game on her phone while her baby boy drowned in bath
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Teesside Crown Court heard Charlie was found unresponsive in the bath when police were called by paramedics to a house in West Chilton Terrace, Chilton, on 16 February 2022. open image in gallery Baby Charlie was left unsupervised by his mother, who claimed she went back downstairs and had to sit on the sofa to catch her breath Massey, 31, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, saying she accepted it was her fault the seat was not properly fixed to the bath. “I reject her account of being exhausted and closing her eyes, I am sure she was active and awake.” The court heard Massey and her son lived in a mother and toddler unit for several months before coming home, and a child protection plan for Charlie by social services had come to an end days before his death. Mr Wright said: “The court can be sure that the cause of Charlie’s death by drowning was not simply because the bath seat was not properly adhering to the basin, but because he was left in the bath seat … unsupervised over a prolonged period of time. “The court can be sure that the period of time in which he was unattended was not the result of inadvertence but as a result of the defendant making a deliberate decision to leave the bathroom and occupy herself with other tasks, including playing a game on her mobile telephone.” Martin Sharpe, defending Massey, said: “It’s quite clear she did have a very strong bond with Charlie.
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Couple jailed for forcing 5-year-old to lie in ice-cold bath for hours
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