Mum who poisoned own child leaving them in need of liver transplant is jailed at Birmingham Crown Court

A mum who overdosed her child on paracetamol and codeine, leaving them in need of a life-saving liver transplant, has been jailed.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Birmingham Crown Court heard how the mother, from the West Midlands, “went to extreme lengths to poison” her child at home and at two separate hospitals – causing severe harm to their liver. When she took her child to see a doctor, however, she tried to hide what she had done.

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: “The woman presented herself as a loving and devoted mother when in fact she had been the cause of her child's illness. What happened to this innocent child was a terrible betrayal by a mother."

On 9 September 2016, the woman took the child to a walk-in centre, claiming they had a high temperature and were struggling to breathe. When the child’s condition deteriorated, they were taken by ambulance to hospital, where they were admitted as an inpatient.

On 12 September 2016, the child began to lose consciousness, displaying signs of acute liver failure. They were subsequently transferred to another hospital, where they began to respond well to treatment.

However, just four days later, with no warning signs, the child’s condition again started to rapidly deteriorate - something the doctor described as “acute, unexpected, and unusual”.

The child subsequently underwent an urgent liver transplant. An investigation was launched, revealing that the child had dangerously high levels of paracetamol and codeine in their system.

But hospital records proved that medical staff had only administered the maximum recommended doses of paracetamol to the child, and that there was no plausible reason for codeine to show up on tests.

Scientific analysis of syringes found in both a bag by the child’s hospital bed and in the mother’s washbag subsequently revealed traces of paracetamol and codeine. Police then searched the family home and found co-codamol tablets which matched the residues found in the syringes – proving the woman had administered them.

When confronted by doctors and police officers, the woman lied and told them she had not provided her child with codeine. However, analysis of her mobile phone revealed that she had searched for the effects of a “co-codamol overdose” and for a specific brand of co-codamol which contained both codeine and paracetamol.

It was ultimately determined that the woman administered paracetamol and codeine to her child before taking them to hospital, and then again at each hospital, which explained the child’s deterioration.

Results from advanced scientific testing on the child’s urine, carried out in the US as the test is not yet available in the UK, proved that the child’s liver failure was due to the substantial overdose of paracetamol. If the mother had not poisoned her child with these medications, they would have fully recovered without the need for a transplant.

The tests also revealed that the child had been exposed to codeine and morphine over a significant time period in the past.

Meanwhile, past medical records showed that, despite the child being healthy with no underlying issues before September 2016, they had been seen multiple times by health professionals with exaggerated illnesses and hospitalised on 15 different occasions.

The mother had also previously lied to a nurse and claimed the child was allergic to milk and nuts, leading to unnecessary allergy tests.

CPS Statement

A CPS spokesperson added: “The woman presented herself as a loving and devoted mother when in fact she had been the cause of her child's illness and severe liver damage.

"What happened to this innocent child was a terrible betrayal by a mother. She went to extreme lengths to poison them and continued to administer codeine and paracetamol even as doctors tried to reverse the effect of the codeine with an antidote.

"She has been sentenced and will now face considerable time in prison where she can no longer be a danger to her child.”