A mother who “chose to nurture her drug addiction over her son” has been jailed for nine years for his death.
Natalie Jade Whitehead, 38, pleaded guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday to manslaughter, failure to provide the necessaries of life and negligent act causing harm.
She left two babies alone for at least 21 hours while taking drugs, which led to the death of her eight-month-old son Dexter.
Dexter had returned to his mother's care just five days earlier.
Crown prosecutor Matt LeGrand said Whitehead left Dexter and another baby, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in a crib with a bottle between them sometime after June 16, 2019.
'She and the (alleged) co-defendant were using drugs. They were not meeting the babies' needs. This is evident in malnutrition and diaper rash,” LeGrand said.
He said Dexter died after suffering severe neglect of his most basic needs in the form of food and liquids.
“The hours leading up to death would have been extremely distressing, both physically and emotionally,” LeGrand said.
When paramedics went to Whitehead's home in Raceview, in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, on June 21, they found her holding Dexter and crying.
A mother who “chose to nurture her drug addiction over her son” has been jailed for nine years for the death of baby Dexter. Dexter is portrayed
Whitehead called triple-0 at 5:42 p.m. and told the operator that her baby was “completely gone.”
The court heard that she had “delayed calling the police” to frantically wash her son’s body and clean her “disgusting” house, in an “obvious attempt to lessen (her) responsibility”, and was allegedly helped in this process by his co-accused and later partner Andrew William Campbell.
Police found the Whitehead unit to be in a “state of disarray,” with dog and cat feces scattered everywhere and dirty diapers “everywhere” near Dexter’s bed, the Courier-Mail reported.
Campbell allegedly threw a bag into a neighbor's trash can, told them not to tell police, and then gave a bag containing drug paraphernalia to another neighbor.
“You and Mr Campbell acted most deplorably by first trying to downplay the disgusting state of the house and changing the deceased child’s diaper,” Judge Catherine Muir told Whitehead.
Dexter (pictured) died after suffering severe neglect of his most basic needs in the form of food and fluids, the court heard
Campbell, who lived with Whitehead at the time, was charged with manslaughter and has not yet filed a lawsuit.
LeGrand said Whitehead needed a sentence that exposed his “abject failure” to support his son and reminded his parents that their use of illegal drugs left them unfit for their responsibilities.
Dexter was returned to Whitehead's care just five days before his death.
The baby had been staying with his grandmother and aunt before this, and they said he was well-nourished and in good health when he was with them.
Defense lawyer Joshua Fenton said Whitehead's drug use increased over the years as she entered into several relationships in which she was the victim of domestic violence.
Whitehead's then-partner, Andrew William Campbell (pictured), was charged with manslaughter but has not yet taken legal action
He said she suffered “fairly severe” domestic violence at the hands of Campbell following Dexter’s death.
Whitehead was also devastated by the sudden loss of her husband in 2016.
She started using meth before her husband's death, but the tragedy caused her to use even more, Fenton said.
“There is some evidence of remorse. She was certainly distressed at the triple zero call and at the scene,” Fenton said.
Whitehead wiped away tears in the dock as Fenton said she had displayed symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder while in custody.
“She has taken steps to address her somewhat limited life skills and drug-related crimes,” Fenton said.
The court heard that Whitehead has three other children, with whom she would likely have limited contact in the future as a result of her actions.
Judge Muir sentenced Whitehead to nine years in prison, with her having already spent three years and nine months in custody as time served.
Whitehead will be eligible for parole in June 2025.
Campbell is currently on bail and his case will be listed for mention on December 2.
