Drug addict mother, 40, is found GUILTY of gross negligence manslaughter

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A drug addict mother has been found guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of her asthma-suffering seven-year-old son after he died alone and ‘gasping for air’ in a garden – two days after social services had voted to act to protect him but decided to ‘wait until after the weekend’. 

Laura Heath, 40, deliberately ‘prioritised her addiction to heroin and crack cocaine’ prior to the ‘needless, premature’ death of ‘frail’ Hakeem Hussain from an asthma attack on Sunday November 26 2017, prosecutors had told Coventry Crown Court.

An image revealed during the trial showed how Heath had even used foil and an elastic band to rig one of her son’s blue inhalers to smoke crack, fuelling a £55-a-day habit. 

Heath, formerly of Long Acre, Nechells, Birmingham, was convicted today of gross negligence manslaughter of Hakeem, who died at the home of a friend where his mother had been staying. She admitted four counts of child cruelty before trial, including failing to provide proper medical supervision and exposing him to class A drugs.

Hakeem’s death came just months before Birmingham Children’s Trust took over child social services in early 2018, with responsibility transferred from the council’s failing child social services department after years of poor performance dating back to 2008. 

Those failures were placed in sharp focus by high-profile child deaths, such as those of Khyra Ishaq in 2008, Keanu Williams in 2011, and Keegan Downer in 2015. 

Social services in Birmingham were aware of Hakeem before his death, and it emerged at trial how at a child protection conference on Friday November 24, 2017 – just two days before his fatal collapse – a school nurse told the meeting ‘he could die at the weekend from asthma’. 

But the meeting ended with an agreement that the family’s social worker would speak to Heath on the Monday, detailing the meeting’s outcome – by which time Hakeem was dead.

In her evidence at the trial, school nurse Melanie Richards said she told the meeting ‘he (Hakeem) could die at the weekend from asthma’. She scored Hakeem’s safety as ‘zero’ out of 10.

Hakeem had been one of four children Heath had, but his three half-siblings were all removed from her care.

Iain Butlin Moran, who chaired the conference, told the trial that social worker Stuart Sanders had been due to speak to Heath about the meeting’s outcome, and to encourage her to ‘work with social services’, but he added that ‘standard practice would have been to do that on the Monday’. 

Neelam Ahmed, family outreach worker at Hakeem’s school, also told jurors how she had also voted at that meeting ‘to take Hakeem immediately in to care’.

Writing after today’s verdict, The Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza, said: ‘Another devastating case. For Hakeem and the other children who have needlessly lost their lives, saying it won’t happen again isn’t enough. We must not tolerate the same platitudes, we need actions that deliver so that it can’t.

‘This case raises further questions about the safety of children in Birmingham. I will be raising my concerns with the Department for Education and Birmingham Children’s Services Trust directly.’

A serious case review is now under way into all agencies’ contact with Hakeem and his family, to be published within weeks.

Appalling cases often spur policy changes, such as the case of Victoria Climbie in 2000, which led to a reform of the child protection system.

Hakeem’s death came just months before a new Birmingham organisation took over child social services. Since April 2018, the city’s social services have been the responsibility of the Birmingham Children’s Trust.

The trust’s chief executive Andy Couldrick, speaking after the trial, said the child protection conference ‘should have happened earlier’ and there were ‘some clear missed opportunities’ in the case.

Mr Couldrick, giving an overview of Hakeem’s case, said: ‘There were some clear missed opportunities, (and) some of them are distressingly familiar in terms of other cases.

‘I think that, for too long, social workers worked in what they believed was partnership with the mother, and didn’t understand the amount of disguise and deception in regards to her substance use, in particular, and Hakeem, and who had an additional area of vulnerability because of his asthma.

‘I think different agencies and services connected with Hakeem didn’t do enough to seek information from each other and share that information. 

‘If all of the necessary information is being shared… I think a different picture emerges.’

He added: ‘At the sharpest point was the child protection conference on Friday before the weekend of his death.

‘That conference should have happened earlier.

‘And in any conference where there is such a serious level of concern about the risk to the child, it should have led to more immediate action.

‘The serious case review may shed more light, but I am assuming there must have been a consensus at the end of the conference that meant there wasn’t immediate action taken.

‘That’s one thing that has changed in the way we do business.

‘In any situation where that level of concern is identified… that would, today, provoke an immediate response.’

Asked if vulnerable children were safe in Birmingham in 2022, Mr Couldrick said: ‘These measures are stronger in Birmingham than they were five years ago.

‘I think we will never be able to completely eradicate the risk of tragedies like this happening, because people go on finding ways of doing seriously harmful things to small children.

‘The least we can do, reduce the risk to the lowest level possible… the way we have since the Trust started.’

He added: ‘We ask social workers to judge when the right time is to remove a child.

‘We want social workers to get that right.

‘Most of the time social workers do that well – and sometimes get it wrong.’

‘I think child social care in Birmingham did do some things wrong (in this case) and we have worked hard to learn those lessons,’ he added.

‘Because every time we let this happen, we lose social workers.

‘I hope we can be humble about the things which have gone wrong, and learn better from that and be confident to put things in place to make Birmingham Children’s Trust a safe place to learn and become stronger social workers.’

A serious case review into all agencies’ contact with the youngster and his mother, before his death, is set to be published within weeks.

But following the trial, the head of Birmingham Children’s Trust, which took over child social services in early 2018, said there were ‘clear missed opportunities’ in social services’ handling of the case.

Mr Justice Dove said he will not pass sentence today and adjourned the case until Thursday.

The courtroom was cleared and Heath remained with her head in her lap as her legal counsel approached her.

The total jury deliberation time was six hours and 20 minutes.

Teachers and classmates have paid tribute to ‘warm and generous’ seven-year-old Hakeem Hussain, whose mother has been convicted of fatally neglecting him.

‘Incapable’ Laura Heath deliberately ‘prioritised her addiction to heroin and crack cocaine’ prior to the ‘needless, premature’ death of Hakeem from an asthma attack on November 26 2017, prosecutors told the jury at Coventry Crown Court.

In a statement, released in December 2017, staff and children at Nechells Primary Academy paid tribute: ‘Hakeem was a most beautiful little boy, a great friend to many staff and children, with a wicked sense of humour and an infectious giggle.

‘He was a warm and generous-hearted soul who was talented across many areas of the curriculum but especially so in music and the arts. 

‘He totally stole the show with his performance as the Christmas Star in the Year 2 nativity play with his clear speaking voice and stage presence.

‘There wasn’t a dry eye in the house as he delivered his lines with poignancy, grace and humour.

‘The twinkle in his beautiful eyes was as bright as the stars in the sky, and our love for him will shine out forever, from all of his Nechells family.’

Following the verdict, Detective Inspector Michelle Thurgood, of West Midlands Police, who led the investigation, said: ‘Hakeem’s death was untimely, tragic and preventable.

‘He was a young boy who should have been enjoying a carefree and happy childhood.’

She added: ‘His mother had a duty of care to manage the administration of his asthma medication.

‘Her life and home was chaotic and this had a detrimental impact on poor little Hakeem.

‘My thoughts remain with his loved ones and I hope the court outcome offers some comfort.’

Georgina Davies, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘This was a tragic case of a young boy who was let down by his mother, who should have protected him.

‘The terrible choices that Laura Heath repeatedly made led to the loss of Hakeem Hussain and I welcome the jury’s decision.

‘My heartfelt condolences go out to Hakeem’s family. I hope today’s verdict brings them a small measure of comfort that Heath has been held accountable for Hakeem’s death.’

Social services in Birmingham were aware of Hakeem before his death, and it emerged at trial how at a child protection conference on November 24, 2017 – just two days before his fatal collapse – a school nurse told the meeting ‘he could die at the weekend from asthma’.

Nurse Melanie Richards, as well as a family outreach worker at Hakeem’s Nechells Primary School who was also in the meeting, scored Hakeem’s safety as ‘zero’ out of 10.

Neelam Ahmed, the family outreach lead at the school, said: ‘There were no safety or protective factors and Hakeem was at significant risk of harm.’

Despite those votes, and a low score from the social worker, the meeting ended with agreement the social worker would speak to Heath on Monday – by which time Hakeem had died.

A serious case review into agencies’ contact with Hakeem is set to be published within weeks.

But Andy Couldrick, chief executive of Birmingham Children’s Trust, which took over child social services in early 2018, said following the trial there were ‘clear missed opportunities’ in social services’ handling of the case.

Jurors heard how Heath had lived at Long Acre since 2013, with one visitor describing conditions as ‘disgusting’.

The same witness told how Hakeem said he had no bed, sleeping instead on the sofa, while there was evidence Heath used an upstairs bedroom for sex work to fund her habit with a basket of condoms next to the mattress.

Heath recently started staying with a friend, Timothy Busk who lived in a flat in Cook Street, a short walk away, with one friend describing it as being ‘foggy and smoky’ inside, and a ‘mess’.

While there that night, Heath would later tell police she smoked three bags of heroin – two before Hakeem went to bed at 10.30pm – and one afterwards, leaving her in a drug-induced sleep.

At 7.37am on Sunday November 26, Heath was woken by Mr Busk – who had found Hakeem dead in the garden and carried the youngster’s gaunt body to the sofa.

She called 999, later telling police in interview: ‘Hakeem was freezing and his lips were blue.

‘Hakeem would go out when he was unwell and must have fallen asleep (when outside).

‘I just suspect he didn’t wake me up, took himself to get fresh air and then probably fell asleep.’

In the early hours, a neighbour had heard tapping at his window but – going downstairs to investigate – saw nothing in the darkness.

Heath did not give evidence in her defence, with prosecutors saying it showed she was ‘unable to hear the truth’.

Jurors heard Hakeem’s father – who attended for much of the trial – was in prison at the time of the boy’s death, for an unrelated offence, and that Heath had previously had other children taken into care.

Teachers said Hakeem turned up to school often late – when he was taken at all – in unwashed uniform, dirty, and his ‘mop’ of black hair, uncut.

Despite the squalor of home life, teachers said Hakeem was ‘bubbly’, ‘bright’ and a keen student, who enjoyed reading.

Jurors also heard how Heath’s friend Chloe Cooper, disgusted by conditions she witnessed at the boy’s home the day before his death, offered to take him home with her ‘but she (Heath) refused’, she said.

Prosecutors said Heath should have been well aware of Hakeem’s spiralling health problems.

Hakeem was admitted with breathing difficulties to Birmingham Children’s Hospital’s high dependency unit for four days, in September 2017, receiving treatment for his ‘life-threatening’ condition.

It was his third hospital admission.

At the opening of the trial, the Crown said Heath ‘failed to administer’ any ‘preventer’ asthma medication in the two days before he died, and did not have access to a spacer device, used to get more drugs into a child’s lungs.

Police searches later found part of a spacer amid the squalor of mouldy food, over-filled ashtrays, and drugs paraphernalia in Long Acre.

Heath will be sentenced on Thursday.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: ‘Suffering from severe asthma meant Hakeem Hussain needed an attentive and loving parent who was always alert to his wellbeing.

‘Tragically he was instead totally neglected by his mother as she lost herself consuming heroin and crack cocaine.

‘It appears opportunities were missed by local agencies to step in and protect Hakeem, with the full details due to be revealed when the Child Safeguarding Practice Review is published in the next few weeks.’

The crack-addicted mother who used her asthmatic son’s inhaler to smoke drugs before he died from his condition 

By Henry Martin for MailOnline 

Laura Heath left her son to die alone in a freezing garden in Birmingham after he got out of bed to get some fresh air.

Jurors were told how she would ‘source heroin and crack cocaine’ as her ‘first priority in life’ ahead of the welfare of her young son.

Shocking images released by police showed how Heath had used Hakeem’s inhalers to smoke class A drugs from despite his breathing getting worse ‘day by day.’

Hakeem, who was suffering from uncontrolled asthma, was found in the garden at the at around 7.30am on November 26, 2017 but could not be saved by medics.

During the month-long trial, the court had heard how Hakeem’s death could have been completely avoided.

He was also made to sleep on a sofa in squalid conditions, while his jumper smelled of urine and his school uniform reeked of cigarettes.

Prosecutor Jonas Hankin QC said: ‘Hakeem found himself powerless in a perfect storm where he had not been given his preventer medication. His lungs were in a poor condition and he was being put into adverse environments – cold, smoky and dirty environments. 

‘What chance did Hakeem have with his mother and her priorities? His death was avoidable. His death was a needless, premature death. Had it not been for her conduct Hakeem would still be alive. There can’t be a greater breach of parental duty than that.’

Hakeem was known to social services and was classed as ‘vulnerable’ due to concerns about ‘neglect, attendance issues and his home life’.

A child protection meeting was held two days before his death where a school nurse had warned Hakeem was at risk of dying and should be removed from his mum.

But it was decided he should not be removed from his Heath’s care despite his being as a ‘serious risk of harm.’

Following the meeting Heath messaged a friend saying: ‘Hakeem is on child protection… neglect… hey ho… gonna do what I gotta do.’

Prosecutors said Heath mismanaged Hakeem’s asthma as she disengaged with social workers and school staff during 2017. 

She was accused of prioritising her spiralling drug habit over her son’s health, even resorting to sex work to fund it, the court heard.

The jury were told the gas and electric were turned off at her ‘chaotic’ and ‘messy’ home in Long Acre, Nechells, resulting in her going to stay at an address in nearby Cook Street where Hakeem died.

Heath had told police after her arrest that Hakeem would go outside for some fresh air if he was ever struggling with his breathing.

She said in her police interview after his death: ‘I had a funny feeling he had gone out in the night and fell asleep outside.’

Dr Roger Malcomson a consultant paediatric pathologist who conducted an autopsy on Hakeem in December 11, 2017 at Coventry Mortuary, found that Hakeem’s lungs were ‘hyperexpanded.’

He told the court during trial: ‘Hakeem’s lungs were so hyperexpanded that the lungs overlapped the heart which is not normal.

‘The lungs were in a different position compared to that of a normal person.’