GEORGIA Newnham should have been celebrating her 14th birthday yesterday.
Instead of cutting a cake with her, the tragic youngster’s family gathered at her graveside.
As she desperately tries to come to terms with her loss, Georgia’s mother Joanne Lewendon, of Hove, said she still longed for answers as to how her daughter died while in foster care.
Joanne said: “She was 11 years old. She had her whole life ahead of her.
“She had just started secondary school. I should have been buying her presents, not buying balloons to set off in the grave yard.
“She should be enjoying her summer holidays now.”
Georgia was found dead with a can of Sure deodorant in her bed at the home of her foster parents in Peacehaven on May 15, 2017.
Coroner Alan Craze was unable to conclusively prove what caused Georgia’s death – instead recording an open verdict – and leaving Joanne searching for answers.
She is hoping for a new criminal investigation to be opened to finally prove what killed Georgia.
She said: “I feel like since the open verdict everyone wants to brush it under the carpet.
“I’m going to keep going and keep going, looking for answers as long as I can.
“I need to know what happened to her, for me and to do my best by her.
“I’ve got to take some responsibility. I was unwell and asked for the children to be taken into foster care, but I never expected this.
“She has two brothers who are never going to see her again and miss her terribly.
“She was a little girl in her pyjamas. She should not have died like that.”
Georgia was found dead just before 8am at her home in Peacehaven.
At a hearing last year, the medical cause of her death was given as cardiac arrest and solvent inhalation.
Her foster mother Casandra Copping bought her the Sure spray-on deodorant which was found in her hand.
Just days after her death Sussex Police said they would not be conducting a criminal investigation and passed the case to the East Sussex Coroner, who later recorded an open verdict.
Joanne has launched a petition calling for a new investigation. To sign the petition visit https://www.change.org/p/katy-bourne-the-cps-justice-for-georgia-elizabeth-newnham-aged-11-year-s-old
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