MANCHESTER MOTHER PLEADS GUILTY TO SUFFOCATING HER FOUR-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER
A mother who suffocated her four-year-old daughter in Manchester has been detained in a mental health unit.At Manchester Crown Court, Chantelle Blake, 31, of Garthorne Close, Moss Side, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her daughter Kaiya.
Kaiya's body was found at their home in September 2011, after Blake was treated in hospital for self-inflicted injuries, police said.
Blake entered her guilty plea on the basis of diminished responsibility.
The court heard that she was suffering from delusions and hallucinations and has since been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
Mr Justice MacKay said: "You were thinking in a distorted and deluded way, but you genuinely believed that you were acting to protect your daughter from harm by persons who wished her ill." The article details how Blake made an anonymous 999 call from Manchester Royal Infirmary, admitting she had suffocated her daughter, and police found Kaiya in bed with a pillow over her face.
Det Ch Insp Phil Reade stated that Kaiya's death was an absolute tragedy, leaving her family devastated.
Blake will only be released when doctors and an independent review panel approve.
It was also noted that Kaiya's father, Alexander Glenford, was based in Jamaica but maintained contact with Blake and Kaiya.
The article mentions Manchester City Council's involvement and a serious case review planned into the family's circumstances.
It was also recalled that Blake exhibited early signs of mental health issues, including an assault on her daughter outside a Poundstretcher in 2010, and Kaiya was taken from her but returned shortly before her death.
The court heard Blake did not accept the full extent of her mental illness but acknowledged she was not in her right mind at the time and believed she was acting out of love and fear to protect her daughter.
