Girl knew neither daylight nor fresh air: British woman locks daughter in drawer for years
Chester (England) - It's unbelievable. A British woman hid her daughter (4) in a drawer for years - even from her partner and other children. The completely neglected and malnourished girl was freed from the clutches of her horror mother.
It is hair-raising what an English woman did to her own daughter, reports the Daily Mail newspaper.
The little girl knew neither daylight nor fresh air and was instead locked in a drawer in her bed for years.
According to the Daily Mail, the horror mother has now had to stand trial at Chester Crown Court. The woman admitted to the crimes, admitting to cruelly neglecting her daughter between 2020 and 2023.
In the end, the sentence was harsh: seven years in prison.
"I have never seen such an extreme case of blatant child neglect and cruelty. The mother showed no remorse or emotion whatsoever," said a social worker during the trial. "I have often thought about the baby and this case since March 2023."
Horrific mother locks child in drawer for years: The verdict is in
The chronicle of horror: In 2020, the woman gave birth to the baby girl in the bathtub of her house in Cheshire. She concealed the birth from friends, family and her other children, but initially breastfed the newborn. Her partner at the time was violent and the pregnancy was unplanned, the woman explained in court.
At some point, she decided to put the baby in a drawer and went to work during the day. While she lovingly cared for her other children, she only occasionally looked after the little girl, who was born with a cleft palate, feeding her with powdered milk from a syringe.
The child was discovered in February 2023. By chance, the woman's partner was alone in her house. When he heard whimpering from the upper floor, he went to investigate. He followed the noise and discovered the child in the bed frame - completely malnourished, pale and with matted hair. The man ran out of the house and informed the police.
The court was told that the then three-year-old's level of development was that of a ten-month-old baby. Prosecutor Rachel Worthington noted: "She knew neither daylight nor fresh air and did not respond to her own name."
The now four-year-old is slowly recovering from the terrible ordeal and is reportedly making great progress.