A serious case review has been launched into the death of a 20-month-old baby who was left to starve while her mother was miles away partying during a six-day bender to celebrate her 18th birthday.
Verphy Kudi’s daughter Asiah perished in a flat at a ‘supported housing’ block in Brighton in December 2019 after being left alone for six days with no food or water.
Kudi’s flat was one of eight in a residential complex run by charity YMCA DownsLink to house vulnerable young families on behalf of Brighton City Council.
YMCA DownsLink staff are located at the entrance to the block at all times. Residents with social workers can receive visits but because the flats are independent units YMCA staff do not enter the living areas or carry out regular inspections.
Baby Asiah did not have a social worker. Kudi has repeatedly gone missing since the age of 14 and been the subject of numerous police appeals. MailOnline has asked the council if she had a social worker at the time of her baby’s death.
Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership (BHSCP) – an association of council services, police and NHS – has launched a serious case review into the case.
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.
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.’
The court heard how, after returning home from the party spree in December 2019, 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.
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