A TEEN mum sobbed as she was today caged for leaving her baby to starve to death while she went on a six-day bender for her 18th. Verphy Kudi, now 19, was captured on CCTV leaving little Asiah alone in the flat in Brighton on her birthday. The mum had attended parties in London, Coventry […]
A TEEN mum sobbed as she was today caged for leaving her baby to starve to death while she went on a six-day bender for her 18th.
Verphy Kudi, now 19, was captured on CCTV leaving little Asiah alone in the flat in Brighton on her birthday.
The mum had attended parties in London, Coventry and Solihull during the marathon six-day bender.
After she finally returned home, Kudi called 999 saying: “Help, my baby is not waking up”.
Little Asiah was rushed to Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton but was tragically declared dead on arrival.
A post-mortem exam and subsequent forensic tests found baby Asiah was dehydrated and starved and died from neglect.
Sickeningly, Kudi had left Asiah alone before – including once for two-and-a-half days while she celebrated a friend’s birthday in London.
Kudi sobbed as she was today caged for nine years at Lewes Crown Court. She will serve two-thirds of her sentence in prison before being released on licence.
The mum previously wept in the dock as she pleaded guilty to manslaughter between December 4 and 12.
The judge slammed Kudi for choosing to “prioritise your desires over the needs of your child”.
Sentencing, Judge Christine Laing added: “Asiah was alone in that flat for six days, less two hours, unable to do anything to draw attention to her plight.
“It’s a particularly distressing aspect of this case that in the opinion of Dr Cleghorn, it’s unlikely that Asiah would have cried for any length of time because she had already learnt that in many occasions there was unlikely to be a response.
“And when her suffering became too great, she would not have had the strength to cry.”
The court was told Kudi lied to pals claiming her mum was looking after little Asiah when she was actually alone.
Paramedics raced to the home discovered the baby cold and unresponsive with Kudi hysterical.
She told them and police Asiah had been unwell all day and fell asleep after eating a banana and drinking some milk.
Kudi, who waited three hours to ring 999, then claimed she never work up again.
But the mum changed her story when police showed her CCTV that confirmed she left the flat alone on December 5 and didn’t return until six days later.
At the time of Asiah’s death, Kudi was living in supported housing for young families run by the YMCA on behalf of Brighton and Hove City Council.
YMCA Downslink staff are located in the block but do not enter the living areas or carry out visits or inspections.
Asiah did not have a social worker even though Kudi had repeatedly gone missing since the age of 14 and had been the subject of a number of police appeals.
Staff at the unit called police after reviewing CCTV footage following the baby’s death.
A safeguarding review has been launched by Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership (BHSCP).
Speaking after a previous hearing, Asiah’s grandad Muba Kudi, 59, said: “My heart is so broken.
“My daughter was missing. She had been missing since the age of 14.”
Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership (BHSCP) said: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic death of Asiah. In our safeguarding role, we will work with our partners to look into what has happened and carry out a Child Safeguarding Practice Review.
‘This includes working with our partner Sussex Police to make sure our review is carried out in support of or alongside their ongoing actions in this case.”
Senior Investigating officer Detective Chief Inspector Andy Wolstenholme said; “This was a particularly distressing case for my team and me to investigate, and has caused great sorrow amongst Verphy’s family and the many agencies that have supported Verphy and Asiah.”
