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| Salt baby mother 'could not cope' | |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| A mother may have used table salt to poison her 16-month-old son because she "could not cope", a court has heard. | |
| Marianne Williams' son Joshua was taken to hospital in 2004 in a seriously ill condition and died three days later. | Marianne Williams' son Joshua was taken to hospital in 2004 in a seriously ill condition and died three days later. |
| Prosecutor Richard Smith QC told the court in Winchester that Ms Williams was on medication at the time and had admitted she had "had enough". | |
| Ms Williams, aged 24, of Wiltshire, denies a charge of murder and an alternative of manslaughter. | |
| 'Salt overdose' | |
| Mr Smith told the jury that tests showed the boy had very high levels of sodium in his body. | |
| "That fatal condition did not occur, say the Crown, in any way naturally," he said. | |
| "Rather, it was the result of Joshua having been given an excessive amount of sodium, most likely predominantly, but not exclusively, common table salt. | "Rather, it was the result of Joshua having been given an excessive amount of sodium, most likely predominantly, but not exclusively, common table salt. |
| "Joshua had in effect been poisoned with a sodium, salt if you like, overdose. | "Joshua had in effect been poisoned with a sodium, salt if you like, overdose. |
| "The evidence leads to a sad but inevitable conclusion that this defendant, Marianne Williams, administered that sodium to cause her son's death." | "The evidence leads to a sad but inevitable conclusion that this defendant, Marianne Williams, administered that sodium to cause her son's death." |
| Joshua had medical problems and needed daily medication | |
| The court heard how Ms Williams knew about the consequences of a salt overdose, as Joshua had been taken into hospital with high sodium levels in his blood less than a month before his death. | |
| Ms Williams and Joshua's father, Paul Taylor, took their son home from hospital on 23 February. | |
| Ms Williams was responsible for feeding him through a tube directly into his stomach or into his nose because he had difficulties eating normally. | |
| Joshua was back in hospital one morning later and he died on 27 February 2004. | |
| Small kidneys | Small kidneys |
| The court heard that when Joshua was born he weighed only 2lb 10oz (1.2kg) and had a number of medical problems. | |
| Mr Smith said: "Joshua needed intensive round-the-clock medical care as well as a substantial amount of daily medication to try to foster his survival and his growth." | Mr Smith said: "Joshua needed intensive round-the-clock medical care as well as a substantial amount of daily medication to try to foster his survival and his growth." |
| The jury heard Joshua's very small kidneys meant he found it difficult to conserve enough sodium in his system. | The jury heard Joshua's very small kidneys meant he found it difficult to conserve enough sodium in his system. |
| He was medicated with sodium chloride almost every day to restore his body's natural balance, the court heard. | He was medicated with sodium chloride almost every day to restore his body's natural balance, the court heard. |
| Mr Smith said Ms Williams had admitted to police she was unable to cope with Joshua's care. | |
| He added that Ms Williams had said she felt she "couldn't cope, didn't want Joshua to come home, couldn't cope with his problems, had enough." | |
| The case continues. | The case continues. |