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Answers demanded in Coventry cocaine-in-blood baby death Answers demanded in Coventry 'cocaine' baby death case
(about 4 hours later)
Councillors have demanded to know why the parents of a baby who died with cocaine and alcohol in his blood did not face neglect charges. Authors of a report into the death of a baby who died with cocaine in his blood will ask police how a file on alleged neglect failed to reach prosecutors, the BBC understands.
The five-month-old, known only as Child E, suffocated after sharing a bed with his mother and uncle at his squalid Coventry home in 2014. According to a Serious Case Review, the five-month-old suffocated after sharing a bed with his mother and uncle at his squalid Coventry home in 2014.
A "technical error" meant a file on alleged neglect did not reach prosecutors, police said. But as it went before the city council on Thursday, procedural errors in an earlier criminal investigation emerged.
Coventry City councillors called for answers after a serious case review. Answers are now being sought.
More on Child E and news from Coventry & WarwickshireMore on Child E and news from Coventry & Warwickshire
The council will write to West Midlands Police and the Crown Prosecution Service to find out what the error was, the education and children's services scrutiny board resolved at its meeting on Thursday. In early April's review of the death of the infant - known only as Baby E - Coventry Safeguarding Children Board found there was nothing to indicate the boy was in danger before he died. There were no prosecutions for neglect.
The serious case review by Coventry Safeguarding Children Board went before the council on Thursday. The board has asked West Midlands Police for clarification after the force said prosecutors did not receive a "file for neglect" due to a "technical error".
It found the boy was living in a filthy house where cannabis was being grown in the loft. Ch Supt Claire Bell, of the public protection unit, said officers would now consider whether to re-submit any evidence for prosecutors' consideration.
But the review found there was nothing to indicate the boy was in danger before he died. Neither police nor the CPS has confirmed how the files were sent.
It stated the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided no action would be taken against the parents over neglect allegations. Prosecutors said police took a decision in November 2014 not to refer the case to CPS for a charging decision "in respect of any offences in connection with the death of Child E".
However, prosecutors said West Midlands Police did not to refer the case to them for a charging decision. A Safeguarding Children Board spokesperson said: "The report as published reflects the information made available to the author at the time of its completion.
Ch Supt Claire Bell said a file on drug allegations and another on accusations of neglect had been sent to the CPS but the latter did not arrive due to a "technical error". "It is sometimes the case that additional information emerges following the publication of a report and in such cases an addendum will then be issued."
Police and the CPS have not confirmed how the files were sent.
"We will now re-examine our file and determine if we need to re-submit any evidence to CPS for their consideration," she said.