Baby's parents jailed after 'utterly tragic and entirely avoidable' unsupervised bath death

The parents of a baby girl who died after she was left unsupervised in a bath have been jailed.

Elaina Rose Aziz went into cardiac arrest after she was left alone in the bath at her home in Top Knot Close in Nuneaton on the evening of 6 August 2020.

The one-year-old was taken to hospital where she later died.

Her mother Kelsey Harrison, 28, was sentenced to a total of five years in prison.

She will be required to serve two thirds of that sentence before being considered for release.

The baby's father Eddo Aziz, 37, was jailed for a year and four months and will have to serve half his sentence.

An investigation began which saw Elaina’s parents arrested in connection with her death.

The pair initially denied any wrongdoing – instead claiming it had been a tragic accident.

However subsequent toxicology and pathologist reports were able to prove that Elaina had been left in the bath by Harrison while her and Aziz were under the influence of drugs.

At an earlier court hearing, Harrison pleaded guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence, child cruelty and possession of an offensive weapon in connection with an unrelated offence while Aziz admitted child cruelty.

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Teresa McKenna said: "This has been an utterly tragic and entirely avoidable case.

“Elaina should have been able to enjoy bath time while under the care of her parents. Both Aziz and Harrison abandoned their responsibility to keep their child safe from harm – ultimately with devastating consequences.

“Their neglectful actions meant that Elaina lost her life unnecessarily and her death has caused unimaginable suffering for the rest of the family.

“Thankfully these cases are extremely rare, but nonetheless, it has taken a meticulous and lengthy police investigation to establish what happened that night.

“I wish to praise the team involved for their hard work and commitment in what has been a challenging and deeply emotional case for all concerned.

“I’d also like to thank the experts for their insight and dedication to getting the right outcome for Elaina and her family.”