Baby died after carrycot put in shed in haste or recklessly, judge rules

Judge Steven Parker said the baby's parents "failed to adequately supervise" him

A baby living in "overcrowded circumstances" during lockdown died after the carrycot he was in was put in a shed, a judge has concluded.

Judge Steven Parker said the boy's cot was put on an unsecured cardboard box in the shed "in haste or recklessly".

A family court hearing in Liverpool heard the cot "tipped head first" off the box, blocking the baby's breathing.

The judge said the boy's parents, who had denied putting him in the shed, had "failed to adequately supervise" him.

Council social services bosses had asked the judge to make findings about the death of the two-month-old to help make care decisions about other children in the family.

Judge Parker was told the baby died in June 2020 after his parents called the emergency services and said he had been found lifeless in his cot in their bedroom.

'Unnatural and unusual'

In a written ruling, Judge Parker concluded the pair "failed to adequately supervise" their son.

"At the time [he] died, there was tension in the mother and father's relationship caused by living... in overcrowded circumstances during lockdown, lack of sleep and intimacy and poor mental health on the father's behalf," the judge said.

"These matters led to poor communication and arguments between the mother and father, and reached the point where the parents were not coping well and needed a break from caring for [the baby]."

He said the baby was sometimes put on the floor in a room on his own to "cry and self-soothe", which was "contrary to safe sleeping guidelines".

He said either the baby's mother or father put him in his carrycot and "in the shed unsupervised".

"In haste or recklessly, the carrycot was placed... on an inappropriate and insecure cardboard box," he said.

"The cot tipped head first off the upper surface of the box which caused [the baby] to move... and his face was pressed up against the carrycot side with his head in an unnatural and unusual position.

"This compromised his breathing or ventilation and led to his death from hypoxia and hypercarbia."

Judge Parker said the baby's parents had denied the baby was "ever put in the shed" and did not accept he was "ever placed in his cot on a surface that was inappropriate", but he had concluded that they "colluded to provide a false account" of how their son died.

However, he added that police investigated the boy's death and said "there was no identified criminality or neglect" and "no sign of injury" was spotted during post-mortem tests.

Judge Parker, who made his findings on the balance of probabilities, did not say where the family lived or name the local authority involved.

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