A mother who “chose to feed her drug addiction over her son” has been jailed for nine years over his death.
Natalie Jade Whitehead, 38, pleaded guilty in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday to manslaughter, failing to provide the necessities of life and negligent act causing harm.
She left two babies unattended for at least 21 hours while she took drugs, resulting in the death of her eight-month-old son Dexter.
Dexter had been returned to his mother’s care just five days earlier.
Crown prosecutor Matt LeGrand said Whitehead had left Dexter and another baby, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in a crib along with a bottle between them some time after June 16, 2019.
‘She and the (alleged) co-accused were using drugs. They did not attend to the needs of the babies. This is evident in malnutrition and diaper rash,” said Mr. LeGrand.
He said Dexter died after suffering severe neglect of his most basic needs in the form of food and fluids.
“The hours leading up to death would have been extremely distressing both physically and emotionally,” LeGrand said.
When paramedics attended Whitehead’s home in Raceview in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, on June 21, they found her hugging Dexter and crying.
A mother who “chose to feed her drug addiction over her baby” has been sentenced to nine years in jail for the death of baby Dexter. Dexter appears in the photo
Whitehead called triple-0 at 5:42 p.m. and told the operator that her baby was “completely missing.”
The court heard that she had “delayed calling the police” to frantically wash her son’s body and clean her “disgusting” house in an “obvious attempt to diminish (her) responsibility”, and was allegedly helped in this by her co-defendant and later partner Andrew William Campbell.
Police found Whitehead’s unit to be in a “state of disarray,” with dog and cat feces scattered everywhere and dirty diapers “everywhere” near Dexter’s crib, the courier mail reported.
Campbell allegedly threw a bag into his neighbor’s dumpster, telling them not to tell police, and allegedly gave a bag containing drug paraphernalia to another neighbor.
“You and Mr Campbell acted very deplorably by first attempting to minimize the disgusting state of the house and changing the deceased child’s nappy,” Judge Catherine Muir told Whitehead.
Dexter (pictured) died after suffering serious neglect of his most basic needs in the form of food and fluids, the court heard.
Campbell, who lived with Whitehead at the time, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter and has not yet entered a plea.
LeGrand said Whitehead needed a sentence that would denounce his “abject failure” to provide for his son and remind parents that using illegal drugs left them unfit for their responsibilities.
Dexter returned to Whitehead’s care just five days before his death.
The baby had been staying with his grandmother and aunt before that, and they said he was well fed and in good health when he was with them.
Defense lawyer Joshua Fenton said Whitehead’s drug use had increased over the years as he entered into a series of relationships in which he was a victim of domestic violence.
Andrew William Campbell (pictured)
She said she had experienced “pretty severe” domestic violence at the hands of Campbell after Dexter’s death.
Whitehead was also devastated by the sudden loss of her husband in 2016.
She had started using methamphetamine before her husband’s death, but the tragedy caused her use to increase, Fenton said.
‘There is some evidence of remorse. “She was certainly distressed by the triple zero call and at the scene,” Mr Fenton said.
Whitehead wiped away tears as Fenton said he had shown symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder while in custody.
“He has taken steps to address his somewhat limited life skills and his drug offences,” Mr Fenton said.
The court heard Whitehead has three other children, with whom he would likely have limited contact in the future as a result of his actions.
Judge Muir sentenced Whitehead to nine years in prison and he has already spent three years and nine months in custody as time served.
Whitehead will be eligible for parole in June 2025.
Campbell is currently out on bail and his case will be listed next on December 2.