Baby dies after mother, 26, takes him to a nightclub and drunkenly falls asleep on him in a caravan with two men
A 26-year-old woman was jailed for two years and four months over the death of her four-week baby, whom she had first taken to a night club and then had fell asleep on in a drunken stupor.
Reports said Marina Tilby was seen throwing her son, Darian, up in the air and catching him while she was out clubbing with her sister at the Sea Horse Inn in New Quay, west of Wales. She then took two men back to her trailer with her and Swansea Crown Court heard that Tilby's baby was found unresponsive with blood in his mouth.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, the baby was found lying next to his mother on March 31, 2017
Tilby's sister found her lying face-down on top of her baby. She managed to pull the baby out from under his mother's stomach and noticed that he was bleeding from his mouth and nose. The sister had stayed over as well and her attempts at waking her sister up were unsuccessful because Tilby was so drunk.
The baby was taken to Bronglais hospital where he died later.
Prosecutor Catherine Richards claimed that Tilby's son had suffered from a heart attack after his mother in a drunken stupor fell asleep on him. However, no medical evidence could corroborate the claim and or rule out the possibility of sudden infant death syndrome.
Dyfed Thomas, who defended Tilby, said, "She took a catastrophic set of actions in deciding to go out that night and continuing to drink. She wishes to express to the court, the baby's father and her own family her own remorse and feeling of guilt from that night. Her grief will fill her for the absence of her child for the rest of her days."
Thomas also added that Tilby, who was no longer in a relationship with the baby's father, has been diagnosed with depression since Darian's death.
Judge Paul Thomas termed the incident a 'dreadful case of maternal selfishness' and criticized the mother for 'deliberate neglect' of the child.
Judge Thomas added, "It is a mother's responsibility, a mother's duty, and her natural instinct to put the care and safety of her four-week-old child above all else. You completely ignored that duty so you could get extremely drunk on a night out. So drunk were you that you fell into a deep sleep and slept on top of your baby. There came a time when he was not moving. He had blood in his mouth, but you didn't realise because you were so drunk. You showed deliberate disregard for the welfare of your son."
She was then sentenced to two years and four months in prison.