I heard an inquiry today from a mother who said she had “no shame” for the awful abuse of her baby that resulted in her demise and kept her in a “grubby” living room.
Lauren Wade, 2, was abandoned by Margaret Wade, 41, and Marie Sweeney, 40, to starve to death in their Glasgow Sighthill apartment.
A judge was informed that the youngster had hundreds of head lice and was dangerously underweight due to months of improper nutrition and care.
The girl was discovered to be “unresponsive” on March 20, 2015; she passed just 30 minutes after being admitted to the hospital.
A “skinny and unclean” Lauren had bald patches, a wet diaper, and the paramedics discovered that the blanket she had been resting on was infested with lice and fleas.
Wade informed nurses. A postmortem indicated that Lauren had been the victim of “extreme neglect” even though she had been sick with a virus for a few days.
‘Complications with malnutrition’ were cited as the cause of Lauren’s death at the High Court of Glasgow.
Although Miss Wade was freed in March of this year and Miss Sweeney is eligible for parole in October, the two were each sentenced to six years and four months in prison in 2019.
Today at Glasgow Sheriff Court, a five-week long fatal accident inquiry (FAI) got under way.
The two, who had been charged with Lauren’s murder, pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of failing to take care of the infant between June 2014 and March 2015.
Wade’s two elder children’ primary school had had concerns about her handling their head lice treatment, it was revealed during the trial.
Sharon McIntyre, a 52-year-old school nurse, said that she paid Wade’s apartment an unexpected visit in June 2014 after the mother had canceled a scheduled visit.
The witness was asked by prosecutor Selina Brown if she had explained to Wade why she was there.
I told her it was to discuss about the kids and head lice in the household,’ she said.
‘Mum did not want me to come into flat.’
The witness claimed that she was told the flat was a ‘mess’ but was able to persuade her to be let in.
Mrs McIntyre stated that there were toys and shoes along the hallway which she remarked was ‘untidy.’
She added: ‘When I went into the living room there was a mattress on the floor in front of the TV and a large pile of clothes were on and behind the sofa.
‘There was Lauren’s cot in the living room as well.
‘The place was grubby if not untidy.’
The nurse added that she remembered Lauren trying to crawl up on her lap, but she tried to hold her off as she was ‘grubby’ and she didn’t want her crawling on her.
She stated that she did not see if Lauren had head lice at the time.
The witness recalled another woman entering the living room to speak to Wade about cigarettes.
She claimed she was told by Wade that it was her cousin.
Miss Brown: ‘You did not know that she had a partner then?’
Miss McIntyre: ‘No.’
Miss Brown: ‘If you knew this was her partner, would you have included her in the discussion?’
Miss McIntyre: ‘Yes.’
The witness stated that Wade refused help to deal with head lice and was told she was ‘coping herself.’
Miss Brown asked Miss McIntyre if she believed Wade was coping and she replied: ‘At that point, probably not.’
The hearing was told that Miss McIntyre referred Wade to social work and the Positive Parenting Programme (PPP) after the visit.
Deputy head teacher Yvonne Adams, 55, recalled a meeting she had at school with Wade.
She said: ‘A head lice was crawling across mum’s forehead and my table, I thought she was in a vulnerable position as well.’
The hearing continues before Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull.