Baby Asiah starved to death while her mum Verphy Kudi partied (Image: No credit)
A 20-month-old baby was left home alone to die in her cot while her went out partying on a six-day hundreds of miles away in a case that shocked the nation and left her family in mourning.
On December 5, 2019 Asiah Kudi’s mother Verphy Kudi, who was a teenager at the time, abandoned her for several days to celebrate her 18th birthday. Chilling CCTV footage captured within Gocher Court, the accommodation for vulnerable families where Kudi and Asiah lived, showed Kudi leaving the complex, dressed in blue jeans and a black sweatshirt, with a black bag.
After starting her birthday celebrations in with her boyfriend she moved onto a concert in London’s Elephant and Castle on December 8. On December 9, she travelled further north to Coventry to continue her partying before travelling back to London the next day and returning home to Brighton on December 11 to find Asiah’s dead body in her cot.
Faced with her dead baby in her cot Kudi waited three hours before calling 999. When she eventually made the call she old the operator: “Help, my baby is not waking up.” staff arrived at the flat shortly after 6pm to find her “incoherent, distressed and distraught” and her daughter lying on the floor. Medical teams rushed Asiah to the city’s Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital, but sadly staff were unable to revive her.
CCTV footage showed her leaving her flat on December 5 (Image: PA)
A post-mortem examination determined the cause of Asiah’s death was neglect; a combination of starvation, dehydration and the flu. But it wasn’t the first time Kudi had left Asiah alone, with the court hearing she had been abandoned at least a dozen times before. On October 23, 2019, Asiah was left for seven hours and again on November 7 for 11 hours. Another time she was left for 17 hours.
At sentencing, Judge Christine Laing QC said, in the opinion of a medical professional, it’s “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”.
Before admitting to manslaughter, she spun a web of lies about her whereabouts and claimed her mum was looking after Asiah while she attended the parties, despite having an estranged relationship with her family. She also claimed that her daughter had been unwell all day and fell asleep after eating a banana and drinking some milk and never woke up.
But she soon changed her story when police showed her CCTV that confirmed she left the flat for six days. She then told police: “I’m heartbroken, my heart hurts so much I don’t know how to breathe. I’m trying so hard to be strong.”
Kudi was jailed for nine years after admitting to manslaughter (Image: PA)
On the day Asiah was found dead, Kudi had tweeted about selling tickets for an upcoming gig. At 9.32am, she posted on : “Three standing lil durk tickets for the 3rd Feb. DM me.” Her account @veeeldn was later deleted, reports
Judge Laing noted that the teen had left her daughter unable to do anything to draw attention to her plight. 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.”
In the weeks leading up to the tragedy social workers were worried about Asiah’s care after a series of incidents at the supported housing unit raised concerns, an inquest heard. Staff at the unit contacted social workers after watching CCTV of Kudi leaving her baby girl home alone. Steps were also taken to refer the case to Front Door for Families, that specialises in child safeguarding, but the referral was never made.
At the time of her death, Asiah did not have her own social worker or involvement from any external agencies. A social worker was assigned to Kudi. A safeguarding review by the Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership was published in 2022 and found Asiah’s death could not have been predicted as staff at the YCMA Downslink believed Kudi was a capable and loving parent.
However, the body’s independent report recommended bringing in a system of daily checks and regularly reviewing every young parent in supported accommodation.