A mother who confined her child to a drawer for three years has revealed a disturbing reason behind her actions.
Following the revelation of this shocking case, the woman from the UK, who remains unnamed to safeguard her child’s identity, has been sentenced to prison for ‘extreme neglect’.
Authorities were alerted in February 2023 about a child being found hidden in a Cheshire residence, as reported in court.
Upon investigation, officials discovered a toddler in a drawer, unable to walk or talk, and unresponsive to her name.
The child was immediately placed in care after assessments showed she was so malnourished that she appeared to be only seven months old.
During police questioning, the mother revealed the reasoning behind confining her daughter to a drawer for three years.
She chillingly stated that the ‘baby was not a part of the family’, which led to the child spending the first three years of her life in a drawer.
Further investigation revealed that the child was born in March 2020, kept hidden from everyone, and not officially registered.
The mother periodically fed her milky Weetabix using a medicine syringe, while the child slept in a drawer beneath the bed.
While the woman went to work and attended to her other child’s schooling, the toddler remained alone for extended periods.
The discovery was made by a social worker, who described her ‘overwhelming horror’ upon entering the bedroom.
The social worker stated: “Since March 2023 I have thought about (the baby) and this case often. My initial feelings and thoughts when we entered the mother’s bedroom was of disbelief.
“From entering this room, the bed was high, possibly a double mattress, so I could not see (the baby). Her mother walked round the side of the bed and I followed.
“I was taken aback by what I saw and was extremely shocked to see a baby looking up at me sat in a divan drawer.”
The mother was handed a prison sentence of seven years and six months on Tuesday (November 26).
Judge Steven Everett stated: “You starved that little girl of any love, attention or interaction with others, a proper diet, much needed medical attention for a cleft palate….That little waif was locked in a room on her own.
“What you did was wicked beyond belief. Your actions were catastrophic. She is now coming to life from what was possibly a living death.”