Mother left 4-month-old alone with milk bottle overnight at hotel, tries to kill herself after finding baby dead

A British mother tried to kill herself after finding her baby dead in his cot at a hotel in the town of Argyrades, on the Greek island of Corfu. The 30-year-old mother was saved by the hotel staff. The four-month-old toddler reportedly died after the mother, whose identity has not been revealed, left him alone overnight with a bottle of milk. On Thursday night, August 20, she put her baby to bed with the bottle. She then left the empty bottle with him to suck on as he fell asleep.

However, the next morning, at around 7:30 am, the mother found her child unresponsive. Her child’s condition left her concerned and she called the hotel staff who then called a doctor. After examining the toddler, the doctor said the baby died overnight, “probably from drowning". Soon after hearing the devastating news, the woman attempted to leap from the hotel room balcony but was saved in time by the staff. Local media reports claimed that she has since been shifted to a hospital where she is being given psychological support. The result of a full forensic examination into the infant’s death is awaited.

In another incident, a five-month-old baby died after getting tangled in a blanket. When Cleo Ellis-Girling was transported to a hospital by air ambulance from her home in Troon near Camborne, England, paramedics managed to restore her heartbeat, but the toddler never regained consciousness. Her devastated mother, Sadie Hammill-Girling, was told not to blame herself for her baby’s death as senior coroner Dr Emma Carlyon concluded she died of natural causes.

The 19-year-old grieving mother said health visitors and midwives had advised her to swaddle Cleo if she struggled to sleep. But the coroner was told the baby had wriggled free of the blanket before dying of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome – also known as cot death.

An inquiry at Truro County Hall heard that the 19-year-old Sadie had been downstairs at about midday when she heard her pet dog barking upstairs. The bar worker told the hearing: "I left Cleo for 30 minutes when I heard the Jack Russell barking. She was no longer on her back. She was now on her front with a blanket tangled around her. She had gone limp and wouldn’t wake up."

Pediatrician Peter Fleming also spoke directly to the grieving mother at the inquest and told her she was not at fault. He reportedly said: "Cleo did not die because of something you did or didn’t do. She died despite the fact you were doing the right things and I’m as sure as I can be that she didn’t suffer." While Sadie told the inquest, “She was swaddled because the health visitor and midwives advised me to swaddle her if she didn’t sleep properly. All mothers that I know have done it. She wouldn’t sleep if she wasn’t swaddled, she would just cry. She was a really happy baby, she made everyone laugh and smile. I don’t really know what else to say – I enjoyed all the time I had with her. It’s such a horrible loss and I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone."