A deviant “mother” and Nechells child killer, Laura Heath, severely ignored her seven-year-old son, who succumbed to an asthma attack, which a trial judge described as a “needless, tragic outcome resulting from her abject failure as his mother.”
Hakeem Hussain was discovered deceased in the grounds of a residence on Cook Street in Nechells in November 2017. Laura Heath, 42, the mother, had consumed heroin prior to retiring on the night of Hakeem’s demise.
According to Coventry Crown Court, it was believed he awoke during the night with dyspnoea and went outside, where he endured a final aggravation of his disease, lacking access to his inhalers.
Throughout 2017, Laura Heath neglected her son’s asthma because to her escalating addiction to Class A drugs, which she financed through sex work, theft, and deceitful borrowing, as presented throughout the trial.
She had also severed ties with social services and school personnel, who were increasingly apprehensive about the boy’s well-being. Mr. Justice Dove stated that Hakeem’s demise was attributable to “catastrophic and deplorable” parenting, as her existence “descended into a drug-fueled spiral of squalor, chaos, and tragedy.”
Laura Heath was convicted of gross negligence manslaughter. She had previously admitted guilt to four offences of child cruelty, comprising two counts of “wilfully neglecting her son by failing to provide adequate medical supervision in a manner likely to inflict unnecessary suffering or harm to his health,” and two counts of “wilfully mistreating Hakeem by exposing him to heroin and crack cocaine.” She received a 20-year prison sentence.
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