A drug-addicted mother has been found guilty of manslaughter by killing her son after he died alone and “out of breath” in the garden.
Laura Heath deliberately “prioritizes her heroin and crack cocaine addiction” before the “unnecessary, premature” death of seven-year-old Hakim Hussein on Sunday, November 26, 2017, Coventry Court heard.
The 40-year-old, a former Long Acker in Nechels, Birmingham, was convicted of manslaughter after her “fragile” son died of an asthma attack at a friend’s home where they were staying.
The images shown in court reveal Heath, who has drugs worth 55 pounds a day, has even modified one of her son’s blue inhalers with foil and elastic band so she can use it to smoke crack.
During the trial, it became clear that school nurse Melanie Richards told a child protection conference just two days before Hakim’s death that he could “die over the weekend.”
Health, education and social workers voted to defend Hakim at the same conference.
However, the meeting ended with an agreement for the family’s social worker to talk to Heath about the outcome on Monday – at which time Hakim had died.
Nilam Ahmed, a family outreach worker at the boy’s school, told jurors how she voted at the meeting “to take Hakim to care immediately”.
Both Ms. Richards and Ms. Ahmed rated Hakim’s safety as “zero” out of 10.
Andy Coldrick, chief executive of the Birmingham Children’s Trust, said after the verdict that social workers had missed “clear opportunities” to prevent the boy’s death.
The jury also heard Heath had other children in care before.
A serious review of the cases of contact of all agencies with the young man and his mother before his death is expected to be published within weeks.
Image: Heath modifies blue inhaler with foil and elastic band so he can use it to smoke crack
The boy was in hospital three times before his death
Royal lawyer Matthew Brook said at the opening of the case that Hakim had repeatedly been absent from school and had suffered three emergency hospital admissions.
The third was when he spent four days in the high-ward ward of Birmingham Children’s Hospital for four days in September 2017 to receive treatment for his “life-threatening” condition.
Prosecutors said Heath should have been aware of Hakim’s spiraling health problems.
However, Heath failed to administer any “preventive” asthma medication in the two days before she died and did not have access to a spacer device used to inject more medication into the child’s lungs, her trial said.
Police searches later found part of a spacer amid the dirt of moldy food, overflowing ashtrays and drug paraphernalia in her home.
Image: Police released photos of the house where Laura Heath lived with her son in Birmingham
Heath smoked three bags of heroin the night before his son died
During the trial, Heath was heard living in a Long Acker home since 2013, with one visitor describing the conditions as “disgusting.”
The same witness said Hakim said he had no bed instead of sleeping on the couch, while there was evidence that Heath had used a bedroom upstairs for sex work to fund her habit with a basket of condoms next to the mattress.
In the days before his death, Heath had recently begun staying with a friend, Timothy Busk, who lived in an apartment on Cook Street for a short walk.
A visitor described it as “foggy and smoky” inside and a “mess,” the court heard.
Heath will later tell police that she smoked three bags of heroin – two before Hakim went to bed at 10.30pm – and one afterwards, leaving her in a drug-induced sleep the night before her son died.
Image: A witness told the court that Hakim would sleep on the couch, not in bed
Mr Busk then woke Heath at 7:37 a.m. on Sunday, November 26, 2017, and told her that he had found Hakim dead in the garden and carried his emaciated body to the couch.
Heath called 999 and later told police in an interview: “Hakim was freezing and his lips were blue.
“Hakim went out when he was not well and must have fallen asleep (when he was outside).
“I just suspect he didn’t wake me up, started breathing fresh air, and then probably fell asleep.
Jurors heard that Hakim’s father – who was present for much of the trial – was in prison at the boy’s death for a crime unrelated to his son.
Heath will be convicted on Thursday.
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