Asiah Kudi inquest: Care staff aware mum left baby home alone before

Staff at supported accommodation where a baby died after being left alone for days were aware the child had been left at least once before, an inquest heard.

Verphy Kudi was jailed after her 20-month-old daughter Asiah Kudi died after being left for six days in a flat in Brighton in December 2019.

A post-mortem examination concluded her cause of death was starvation and influenza.

Kudi is serving a nine-year sentence after admitting manslaughter in 2021.

At the time of her death, Asiah had been living with her mother in supported accommodation in Brighton, run by YMCA Downslink.

Kudi left Brighton on 5 December 2019 and went to London, where she spent her 18th birthday with her boyfriend.

Two days later she attended a concert in Elephant and Castle, south-east London, where she had the DJ announce her birthday.

On 9 December she moved on to a birthday party in Coventry - 150 miles from Brighton - before returning to London the next day and then back home on 11 December, her trial heard.

At Asiah's inquest in Brighton, Kudi's former social worker, Jakki Cahill, said she had been contacted by staff at the unit stating they had become aware of incidents where Asiah had been left alone in the flat.

When looking through CCTV in October 2019, staff noticed Asiah had been left unattended at 03:00 for between 15 and 30 minutes while Kudi had been out smoking a cigarette.

Ms Cahill said she raised these concerns with Kudi and provided her with a baby monitor to help.

After Asiah's death, it was discovered her mother had previously left her unattended from the end of October 2019 on at least seven occasions, for varying lengths of time, from one hour to nearly six days, the hearing was told.

"If I was aware there was an occasion she was missing, I'd have absolutely made contact," Ms Cahill said.

"I wasn't suspicious that she was leaving Asiah unattended at all.

"From my observations, she had given full accounts, shown me pictures of them both on her phone, and would go into detail about what they'd be doing."

A previous review by the Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership said Asiah's death "could not have been predicted by professionals" and stated social workers had believed Kudi to be a capable and loving parent.

The inquest continues.

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