Teen mother weeps as she admits killing her 20-month-old daughter who starved to death after she left her home alone in Brighton and went on six-day party

A teenage mother wept in the dock today as she admitted killing her 20-month-old daughter who starved to death while she was miles away partying during a six-day bender to celebrate her 18th birthday.  

Verphy Kudi's daughter Asiah Kudi died at a flat in a supported housing block in Brighton in December 2019 after being left alone for six days with no food or water.

The mother, now 19, was seen on CCTV leaving the flat on her birthday before attending parties in London, Coventry and Solihull - more than 150 miles away in the Midlands.  

A post-mortem examination and forensic tests found that Asiah starved, was dehydrated and developed flu. Her cause of death was given as neglect.

The baby was under a child protection plan but there was no social worker assigned when she died. Kudi's flat was one of eight a housing complex run by YMCA DownsLink to house vulnerable young families on behalf of Brighton City Council.

Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership (BHSCP) has launched a serious case review. MailOnline has asked YMCA DownsLink if any of its staff visited the housing block while Asiah was alone.  

Today, Kudi appeared at Lewes Crown Court to enter a guilty plea to manslaughter as her father watched on. 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.'

After returning home from the party spree, Kudi called 999 saying her baby would not wake up.

Asiah was taken to Royal Alexandra Children's Hospital in Brighton but was declared dead on arrival.

Today, Kudi held her hands to her face after the charge of manslaughter was read to her. She spoke only to answer guilty to the charge and confirm her name.

Wearing a plain black top and black trousers with a blue medical face mask, she wiped a tear from eyes as her father looked on from the public gallery.

Muba Kudi - Verphy Kudi's father - sat with his arms crossed throughout the short hearing at Lewes Crown Court.

His daughter waved at him from the dock when court staff pointed him out.

Asiah was born on March 22, 2018 and was only 20-months-old when she died. It is not clear who the baby's father was.

She had been living at the flat in Brighton with her mother where they had been housed by social services since September 30, 2019.

Cameras showed Kudi leaving the building on December 5 at 1739.

She did not return until December 11, when at 6.06pm she dialled 999 telling a call handler her baby would not wake up.

A few days later, staff at the Brighton mother and baby unit for teen mothers where they had been living contacted police after reviewing CCTV footage.  

Data gathered by Sussex Police showed Kudi had been at parties in London, Coventry and Solihull before returning to Brighton.

Kudi admitted the manslaughter of her daughter between December 4 and 12.



https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9406105/Teen-mother-admits-killing-20-month-old-daughter.html

I just don't quite know what to say. I'm hoping she's got mental problems but I doubt it. What kind of monster mother does this? It's horrific!

HoratioTarr wrote:I just don't quite know what to say.  I'm hoping she's got mental problems but I doubt it.  What kind of monster mother does this?   It's horrific!

I feel i need to correct your post HT

"What kind of monster does this?"

Because a "mother" she is not

Fucking horrific ........i hope she is never aloud to have children again and if she ever does become pregnant again she is put in a facility till the baby is born and then he/she removed from her

Words fail me ...

HoratioTarr wrote:I just don't quite know what to say.  I'm hoping she's got mental problems but I doubt it.  What kind of monster mother does this?   It's horrific!

A not-ready-for-prime-time mother, that's who. Obviously, she should have been watched herself. Where was her mother??

The baby was under a child protection plan, but obviously that was worse than useless.
No mother acts like this out of the blue, obviously there have been issues before as social services were involved with her.

It's heartbreaking to think how that baby must have suffered before she died of starvation.

Syl wrote:The baby was under a  child protection plan, but obviously that was worse than useless.
No mother acts like this out of the blue, obviously there have been issues before as social services were involved with her.

It's heartbreaking to think how  that baby must have suffered before she died of starvation.

The loneliness, abandonment and bewilderment? The suffering, thirst and gnawing hunger? It doesn't bear thinking about. It's one of the most monstrous things I've read in a long time. That poor kid must have cried. How come nobody heard? Where's the father? The family? The social workers? What kind of broken is society now?

HoratioTarr wrote:

Syl wrote:The baby was under a  child protection plan, but obviously that was worse than useless.
No mother acts like this out of the blue, obviously there have been issues before as social services were involved with her.

It's heartbreaking to think how  that baby must have suffered before she died of starvation.

The loneliness, abandonment and bewilderment?  The suffering, thirst and gnawing hunger?    It doesn't bear thinking about.  It's one of the most monstrous things I've read in a long time.  That poor kid must have cried.  How come nobody heard?  Where's the father?  The family?  The social workers?   What kind of broken is society now?

I totally agree. There was no one...no safety net whatsoever.

But, whoever was responsible for the child-mother, should be held responsible now! Accepting responsibility for the child-mother means accepting responsibility for the child-mother's responsibilities. This baby was her responsibility.

If someone in social services was responsible for the child-mother, then that person should be fired and prosecuted for dereliction of duty, if not negligent homicide.

I can't understand it at all. Did she forget she had a child, she surely didn't think the child would be ok? There must be problems with her no reasonably normal person would do this.

Selfish little bitch.

She simply didn’t care, end of.

eddie wrote:Selfish little bitch.

She simply didn’t care, end of.

You are 100% right Eddie, she was a useless mother and her gorgeous little girl is dead because of her actions.

There can be no excuses made for her behaviour, but what about society in general? How come no neighbours heard the baby crying, no one noticed the mother hadn't been seen coming and going for days?
Where were social services, the child was obviously known to them.

But most importantly, where was the babies father, her grandparents, other relatives or friends?

We live in a dysfunctional society when babies can die alone and no one notices, knows or cares.

I think she wasn't in contact with her family, as for the father there is no mention of him.
As for neighbours sometimes its a good thing if they are nosey but most people wouldn't think a mother would walk out of her house for six days leaving her infant behind. The poor little thing must have cried though, it doesn't bear thinking about.
It looked to me that the child was a bit of an accessory, a photo showed her dressed in the same type of material as her mother, who was glammed up ( just like any teenager I suppose)a bit like a matching hand bag. I could be being a bit harsh.

I dreamed about that child last night. Agony.

I have NO WORDS!!!!

Harrowing story, heinous creature!

Original Quill wrote:I dreamed about that child last night.  Agony.

That story affected me very badly. It was one of those things I couldn't get out of my head. I was a single mother at 18 and leaving my child was not an option even though I would have loved to go out partying. There was no help for me. Nothing. I just got on with it. I was married BTW...but my husband was a feckless waste of space who walked out on us.

HoratioTarr wrote:

Original Quill wrote:I dreamed about that child last night.  Agony.

That story affected me very badly.  It was one of those things I couldn't get out of my head.    I was a single mother at 18 and leaving my child was not an option even though I would have loved to go out partying.  There was no help for me.  Nothing.  I just got on with it.   I was married BTW...but my husband was  a feckless waste of space who walked out on us.

I'm sorry...some men don't have the role models. For this child-mother, even her instincts weren't there. I could go to the zoo and find better mothering.

But, no sense lamenting deficient humans. I just woke up wishing I could have been there. I felt like there was a big hole in the middle of me.

Original Quill wrote:I dreamed about that child last night.  Agony.

Some things we read about, and there have been 2 stories of tiny children being killed by adults in the last few days, stay with us long after we had read them.
They evoke sadness, anger, and we all wish we could have done something to help, but of course we cant.
What we can do is keep our eyes open for neglect or cruelty that you could do something about.

In this case it seems close family, neighbours, social workers, were oblivious. The lack of social awareness nowadays is dire....unless it's played out online, then everyone wants to get involved.

Strange world.

Original Quill wrote:

HoratioTarr wrote:

That story affected me very badly.  It was one of those things I couldn't get out of my head.    I was a single mother at 18 and leaving my child was not an option even though I would have loved to go out partying.  There was no help for me.  Nothing.  I just got on with it.   I was married BTW...but my husband was  a feckless waste of space who walked out on us.

I'm sorry...some men don't have the role models.  For this child-mother, even her instincts weren't there.  I could go to the zoo and find better mothering.

But, no sense lamenting deficient humans.  I just woke up wishing I could have been there.  I felt like there was a big hole in the middle of me.

The man who walked out on us was well educated, his parents had been married for years, he was well brought up, loved, etc. Absolutely no reason why he'd be such an arsehole other than he was just an arsehole. If he'd been some low life scumbag, I'd have expected it but he wasn't. He was privately educated and came from a stable home. His brother was the exact opposite, a good family man. After we divorced, he went and did the same thing to his second wife. So, no....he had role models.

Syl wrote:

Original Quill wrote:I dreamed about that child last night.  Agony.

Some things we read about, and there have been 2 stories of tiny children being killed by adults in the last few days, stay with us long after we had read them.
They evoke sadness, anger, and we all wish we could have done something to help, but of course we cant.
What we can do is keep our eyes open for neglect or cruelty that you could do something about.

In this case it seems close family, neighbours, social workers,  were oblivious. The lack of social awareness nowadays is dire....unless it's played out online, then everyone wants to get involved.

Strange world.

What's got to most of us is the fact that the kid was left alone to die the most horrific lonely death.   As the human body cannot survive longer than three days or so without water, it's my bet that kid was dead days before she got back.  Which probably accounts for nobody hearing her cry. Good job the weather's been cool.  Can you imagine if it was high summer?

Physical damage and trauma is one thing. But how about the loneliness and sense of abandonment the little child felt?