'Beautiful and happy' 13-month-old baby secretly 'poisoned' with salt by own mother

A baby girl spent extended periods in hospital after her own mum "poisoned" her food with excessive quantities of salt.The youngster was admitted to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool for several weeks when she was 13-months-old.

Doctors attempted to identify the cause of a supposed mystery illness, which would routinely cause her to vomit, Liverpool Crown Court heard.

But the child's mother had in fact secretly been lacing her food with huge amounts of salt, and when the abuse was discovered, she then attempted to frame the girl's father. 

The woman - who cannot be named in order to protect the child's identity - has been jailed for four years and two months.A trial previously heard that the 34-year-old's relationship with her baby's dad ended around three months after her birth in early 2018. 

From the summer of that year onwards, she was taken to the GP and to Alder Hey "far more often than usually expected" with her mum "repeatedly reporting she was unwell from unknown causes".

In February 2019, the child first showed signs of nephrocalcinosis - a condition caused by excessive calcium intake and a symptom of "salt poisoning".

She was admitted to hospital the following month, where she remained for around eight weeks.

The mum was allowed to continue to feed the youngster, but she would "become distressed and begin vomiting some time after".

It was also noted that the baby was "extremely thirsty".

Samples taken by hospital staff subsequently showed abnormally high levels of sodium in the girl's blood.

It was then concluded that the "only rational explanation was she had been poisoned with salt".A statement read out in court by on the victim's dad's behalf described how his "beautiful and happy" child vomited on an "almost daily basis" and sometimes several times a day. 

Rebecca Smith, prosecuting, said the father himself was treated as a suspect during Merseyside Police's investigation after the defendant "told everybody it was him hurting her".

Their daughter was placed into foster care for 18 months as a result, although she is now "loving life and enjoying herself" and has made a full recovery. 

The father's statement added: "I can't understand why she did this, but I believe it was to make me suffer. Why do that to her? Why hurt her to get at me?"How long would she have put her through suffering, all for her own gain? It makes me feel sick thinking about what could have happened if she wasn't stopped."I know that one day I will have to tell her the truth, and this frightens me. I will never get over the emotional pain."

Julian Nutter, mitigating, told the court that his client appeared to be suffering from Munchausen syndrome, a rare psychological disorder in which a person fabricates or induces symptoms of illness in themselves.Mr Nutter added: "This, on any view, is a tragic case - not only for the child concerned and the family but also for the defendant who, as a result of what she has done, has set a mechanism which will ensure she will never have a normal relationship with the child who she harmed.

"The background to this is somebody who has done a terrible thing, but someone who is a vulnerable person.

"She suffers from learning difficulties, and this is somebody who has all the signs of Munchausen's.

"There is no explanation as to why she behaved in this way."She appears to be moving towards coming to terms with responsibility for what she has done.

"This is not an individual who decided upon a course of cruelty intending to cause really serious harm."This is a reflection on somebody seeking attention, or for whatever reasons which we cannot get to the bottom of. This is not an individual who is evil to the root."

The defendant, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to child cruelty and two counts of administering a noxious substance with intent to injure midway through a trial in September 2022.

She could be heard sobbing and moaning throughout the hearing before being jailed for four years and two months. 

Sentencing, Judge Denis Watson KC said: "I am satisfied and sure it happened on many different occasions."There must have been separate, repeated episodes where salt was introduced into her food. It paints an inescapably clear picture of a helpless 13-month-old infant being put in regular and repeated distress, solely because of your actions in putting excessive quantities of salt into her food.

"That she recovered in the way that she did is thanks to a combination of the diligence of medical staff and her kidneys continuing to work normally. It is no thanks to you.

"Not only did you conceal it, but you repeatedly showed a determination to create opportunities to poison her. Sometimes this was achieved by distracting professionals, sometimes by fake outrage.

"These are all grave offences. As her mother, you were in a position of trust - although I accept you did not intend to endanger her life, you risked a danger to life or serious permanent harm."

The woman was also handed an indefinite criminal behaviour order, restricting her contact with children, and a restraining order preventing her from contacting her daughter's father for life.

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