Toddler dies after mum feeds him methadone to stop him crying

A drug addict mother who killed her son by feeding him methadone to “knock him out”, so she could smoke crack in peace has been jailed for six years.

34-year-old Kelly Emery was convicted of the manslaughter of her son, Fenton Hogan (2), at Nottingham Crown court in the UK.

 

The young boy was pronounced dead after being taken to hospital from the family’s former home.

Fenton’s grandmother 52-year-old Lynn Wheeldon said Kelly is a “monster” and she will never forgive her.

 

“What I can never forgive is the fact that Kelly didn’t come to me, say she was in a bad way, and ask me to look after Fenton full time,” she said.

“He was my world. I would have done anything for him.

“He’d stay every weekend and we’d go out and feed the ducks and play with his cousins. He was never any trouble, he was my little angel.

“I’ll never get over what has happened. I miss him every day.”

In a statement issued after the case, Detective Inspector Bob Sutton said:

“Fenton Hogan should have had the rest of his live to look forward to.

“Instead his short life was taken by the actions of his mother, who should have been there to safeguard and protect him.”

The police officer also described Ms Emery:

 

“Her daily routine revolved around the consumption of drugs. This was to the detriment of those she had direct care for.

“Fenton’s extended family agrees that no sentence is sufficient or will help to heal what happened to Fenton. The impact of Kelly’s actions will remain with all of the family forever.”

Blood samples taken from the child showed he had as much of the drug on his system as an adult on methadone maintenance therapy.

And hair samples showed that, in the months before his death, he had ingested the drug on at least two other occasions.

 

Prosecuting Christopher Hotten QC told the jury: ‘That Sunday evening, she had crack and she wanted to smoke it.

“We say she gave Fenton methadone knowing, to put colloquially, it would knock him out and enable her to do what she wanted without the interference from a fractious child that was difficult to put to sleep.”

Emery was sentence to six years for manslaughter and 12 month concurrent for a charge of child neglect which she pleaded guilty to.