A mother of eight children was on Thursday found guilty of killing her four-year-old son whose starved body was found in a mummified state in a cot.
Amanda Hutton, a 43-year-old alcoholic, showed no emotion as she was convicted of manslaughter by a jury at Bradford Crown Court in northern England.
The court heard that her son Hamzah’s decomposed and insect-infested body was found in Hutton’s bedroom almost two years after he died in December 2009.
Photographs of the house showed a scene of squalor, with clothes and waste piled up in many rooms.
The foreman of the jury made clear that they had convicted her on the basis that she was grossly negligent by failing to provide adequate nourishment for Hamzah.
Hutton was to be sentenced yesterday.
The jury heard that Hamzah’s body was found in the house, where five other school-aged siblings were living.
Hutton has admitted a charge of child cruelty in respect of each of these children, who were aged between five and 13 in 2011.
Prosecutors said Hamzah probably died from malnutrition because Hutton neglected him as her drinking worsened.
Hutton told the court that she struggled to get her son to eat and he died suddenly.
She claimed she never sought medical advice because she thought Hamzah was going through a phase and would grow out of it.
She said she panicked after his death and only continued to claim child welfare payments for Hamzah because she was worried that, if she stopped, his body would be discovered.
She also said she was concerned the other children would be taken away if Hamzah’s death was discovered.
Hutton has also admitted a charge of preventing the burial of a corpse, along with her eldest son, Tariq, 24.
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