A TEENAGE mother whose baby died after she left her home alone for six days while she celebrated her birthday will be sentenced in August.
Verphy Kudi walked out on her 20-month-old daughter on the day she turned 18, partying for six days while the baby starved to death.
Her daughter was dead when she returned to the flat in Brighton, where she had been housed by social services.
Little Asiah had contracted influenza. A post mortem examination concluded she died from neglect.
Kudi, now aged 19, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March and will be sentenced on Friday, August 6.
At court she spoke only to confirm her name, holding her hands to her face after the charge of manslaughter was read to her.
Kudi, who was wearing a plain black top and black trousers with a blue face-mask, wiped a tear from her eyes as her father looked on from the public gallery.
He sat with his arms crossed throughout the short hearing at Lewes Crown Court. She waved at him from the dock when court staff pointed him out.
Speaking after the hearing, Muba Kudi, 59, said: “My heart is so broken. My daughter was missing. She had been missing since the age of 14.”
Asiah was born on March 22, 2018. She and her mother were housed in a flat in Brighton by social services since September 30, 2019.
CCTV showed Kudi left her Islingword Road flat, on December 5, 2019, leaving her daughter hungry and thirsty.
She did not return until December 11 when she called 999 to say her baby would not wake up.
Asiah was pronounced dead on arrival at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton.
However, according to YMCA DownsLink Group, which runs the accommodation that Kudi lived in, Brighton and Hove City Council were told about a "safeguarding incident” involving Kudi and Asiah.
After the court hearing a spokesman said: "The safeguarding incident which we were aware of was reported to social services.
“This tragic death is still being investigated with the safeguarding practice review which we are contributing to fully and we will not be making any further comments until we have the outcome of that review.
“Our sympathies and thoughts are with the family and everyone affected by this tragic event.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article