Chilton mother whose baby son drowned in bath jailed

The court heard Massey and her son lived in a mother and toddler unit for several months before coming home, and a child protection plan for Charlie by social services had come to an end days before his death.

He was moved to a plan the next level down, a voluntary arrangement with social services, instead of one with legal consequences for not engaging with them, the judge was told.

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said Massey had undergone at least one course in bathing and “understood the need to have towels ready” and not to leave a baby of Charlie’s age unsupervised for any period of time.

The court heard the seat used for Charlie should be fixed to the bath with suction pads, but could not be properly fitted in Massey’s bath because of the curvature.

Mr Wright said: “The court can be sure that the cause of Charlie’s death by drowning was not simply because the bath seat was not properly adhering to the basin, but because he was left in the bath seat… unsupervised over a prolonged period of time.”

Martin Sharpe, mitigating for Massey, said: “It’s quite clear she did have a very strong bond with Charlie.

“She didn’t mean to cause harm to Charlie.”

He told the court: “She did lack organisation, she didn’t follow the instructions and should never have left Charlie unattended.”