Jailed mum delays funeral of Chelmsley Wood toddler Levi-Blu

The mum of toddler Levi-Blu Cassin fought an eight-month legal battle to stop his grandmother finally staging his funeral.

Danielle Cassin, who is currently in jail over Levi's death, fought her own mother all the way to the High Court to decide who was the 22-month-old’s next of kin.

Levi-Blu died of extensive abdominal injuries in February 2013.

A legal loophole meant Danielle and Levi-Blu’s father retained next of kin status despite both being jailed over the youngster's death.

Levi-Blu's grandmother Angela Cassin was named his next of kin in an historic court ruling, which paved the way for his funeral more than two years after he died.

Danielle Cassin, 28, of Frensham Close in Chelmsley Wood, and Levi-Blu’s father Mark Piper, 32, of no fixed address, were both cleared of the murder and manslaughter of their son following a five-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

They were instead convicted of causing or allowing his death and each jailed for nine years last December, and branded "selfish, neglectful and manipulative” by sentencing judge Mr Justice Goss.

Their trial heard how Cassin took her son to crack dens where she would smoke class A drugs for hours.

Piper was painted as a violent bully who regularly beat Cassin in rows over drugs.

Both blamed the other for Levi-Blu’s death on February 20 2013 after he was discovered in the early hours of the morning in cardiac arrest.

Levi was pronounced dead at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, with a post-mortem examination revealing catastrophic internal injuries.

His grandmother expected to be able to arrange the funeral straight after the pair’s trial, but when police applied to Birmingham coroner Louise Hunt, it was revealed that Danielle was still Levi-Blu’s next-of-kin and had granted power of attorney to her late father’s partner.

Danielle even used her power as next-of-kin to deny her mother access to the toddler’s body from her prison cell.

Anglea said it was "heartbreaking" before then writing to the coroner, a judge and finally the High Court, which ruled she was Levi-Blu’s next-of-kin.

His body was returned to her home where it remained overnight before his funeral.

Levi-Blu was cremated at Woodlands Cemetery in Coleshill last Friday, following a service at St Anne’s Church in Chelmsley Wood, Birmingham.

Around 100 people attended the church ceremony.