A sickening series of lies told by a teenage mum who abandoned her baby daughter for six days while she partied, during which she died in her cot, has been revealed.
20-month-old Asiah Kudi’s tragic death in December 2019 occurred after her mother Verphy Kudi selfishly left her alone in their Brighton home to celebrate her 18th birthday.
Kudi was jailed in August 2021 for nine years, after pleading guilty to manslaughter. She is currently serving two-thirds of her sentence in prison before being released on licence.
CCTV footage from Gocher Court, the accommodation complex for vulnerable families where Kudi and Asiah lived, showed the teen leaving on December 5, 2019, carrying a bag. She travelled to London, where she began her extensive celebrations. Images obtained from her mobile phone showed her two days later, partying at a concert.
The court heard how she stayed out until 4am that night, before moving on to another party in Coventry, 150 miles from home. She did not return home until December 11, finding her daughter’s body in her cot.
She waited three hours to call an ambulance, and claimed her baby was “not waking up”. Paramedics arrived just after 6pm, and found Kudi “incoherent, distressed and distraught”. They rushed Asiah to the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, but medics were unable to save her.
A post-mortem revealed Asiah’s death was caused by neglect from a combination of starvation, dehydration and flu. Shockingly, it wasn’t the first time the tot had been left alone. The court heard Kudi had abandoned her at least a dozen times before, on one occasion for 17 hours.
On sentencing Kudi, Judge Christine Laing KC said, in the opinion of a medical professional, it was “unlikely that Asiah would have cried for any length of time because she had already learnt that, on many occasions, there was unlikely to be a response. And when her suffering became too great, she would not have had the strength to cry”.
In an attempt to cover up her neglect of her daughter, Kudi told a series of lies about her whereabouts. She claimed her own mum was looking after Asiah, despite having a long-term estranged relationship with her family, reports the Mirror.
She later said Asiah had been unwell all day and fell asleep, but failed to wake up at all. However, she quickly changed her story when police showed her the CCTV confirming she had left the flat for nearly a week. She told officers: “I’m heartbroken, my heart hurts so much I don’t know how to breathe. I’m trying so hard to be strong.” She had also posted on social media on the day of Asiah’s death, advertising concert tickets she was selling. Her account was later deleted.
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The judge noted how the tot was left helpless, unable to draw attention to the situation. She said: “She was a helpless child and relied completely on you as her mother to provide for her needs. It is almost unbearable to contemplate her suffering in the final days of her life, suffering that she endured so that you could celebrate your birthday and the birthdays of your friends as a carefree teenager.”
The court heard that social services were concerned about Asiah’s care in the weeks leading up to her death. Staff at the supported housing unit contacted them after CCTV showed previous instances of Kudi leaving her daughter home alone. A referral was intended to be made to a child safeguarding organisation, but never went through.
Although a social worker was assigned to the teenage mum, Asiah did not have one, nor were any external agencies involved in her care. A safeguarding review by the Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership from 2022 found her death could not have been predicted, as staff at the YMCA Downslink believed Kudi was a capable and loving parent.
However, the independent report advised a system of daily checks and regular review of all young parents in supported accommodation.
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