Mother who kept baby hidden in drawer for three years jailed

CNN — A mother who kept her baby daughter in a drawer under her bed for almost three years has been jailed for seven and a half years in Britain. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed at Chester Crown Court in northwest England after the judge said the child – who was discovered weeks before her third birthday – had endured a “living death” as a result of her mother’s “terrible secret.” The unnamed toddler was found with matted hair, rashes and some deformities at the family home in Cheshire, according to the PA Media news agency, which reported on the case. “The consequences for were nothing short of catastrophic – physically, psychologically and socially.” Girl now ‘slowly coming to life’ in care He went on to tell the court that the child, now in foster care, is an “intelligent little girl who is now perhaps slowly coming to life from what was almost a living death in that room.” Prosecutor Siôn ap Mihangel said that when the child was taken to hospital she was found to be significantly malnourished and dehydrated. “She was kept in a drawer in the bedroom, not taken outside, not socialised, no interaction with anybody else,” Ap Mihangel said, explaining that she had a developmental age of between 0 and 10 months. She said the drawer was never closed and that the baby did not remain it at all times, but that she was “not part of the family.” In a statement read out to the court, the child’s foster carer said: “It became very apparent she did not know her own name when we called her.” Defense attorney Matthew Dunford said the woman’s mental health, a volatile relationship with the child’s abusive father and the Covid lockdown had combined to create an “exceptional set of circumstances.” He went on to say that the other children, who were well looked after, no longer live with their mother.