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Hamzah Khan death: Mother 'prevented ambulance call' | |
(35 minutes later) | |
A woman accused of starving her four-year-old son to death told police she stopped her adult son calling for an ambulance after the boy had died. | |
Amanda Hutton also told police she did not seek medical help when Hamzah Khan refused to eat because she had a fear of doctors and hospitals. | |
In the interview, played to Bradford Crown Court, she also said she told people after Hamzah's death he had gone to live with relatives. | |
Ms Hutton, 43, denies manslaughter. | |
Hamzah died in 2009 but his remains were not found until 2011. | |
Earlier the court heard evidence from Det Con Richard Dove, who discovered Hamzah's mummified body in a cot in his mother's bedroom and said at first he thought the child was not real. | |
He told the court that when he arrived at Ms Hutton's house it was a tip, with a strong smell "like rubbish, mixed with sweat, mixed with urine" and he could not get into the sitting room because rubbish was blocking the door. | |
'A difficult one' | |
In Ms Hutton's police interview, she said she was worried Hamzah had been hurting himself and authorities would think she had done it. | |
During the taped interview with detectives in September 2011 Ms Hutton claimed Hamzah had problems from birth and would bang his head against the wall. | |
She said: "Progressively he wouldn't eat. I was worried about it. | |
"He was just a really difficult one. He began losing weight." | |
Asked why she did not take the child to see a doctor, she said: "I don't know, I'm not a doctors person. I do have a fear of doctors and hospitals." | |
The court heard that in December 2009 Hamzah got worse. His mother said he was still wearing nappies, could not speak and would communicate in what she described as "babble". | |
'Completely numb' | |
Ms Hutton said: "He'd set off screaming and there was nothing you could do to stop him." | |
She told police she would try feeding Hamzah because he wouldn't feed himself. | |
Jurors heard that four weeks before he died he lost the power to walk and would lay in his cot. | |
She recalled that the night before his death, her son said to her "I love you mum. Are you alright mum?" as she stroked his head. | |
The day her son died Ms Hutton received a phone call from her eldest son Tariq Khan saying Hamzah was seriously ill, the court heard. | |
She said when she arrived home from shopping Tariq said "look at his eyes" and as she tried to resuscitate him she realised he had died. | |
"It's like dizziness closing in and out," she told detectives. | |
"I felt completely numb and as each day passed I found it more and more difficult." | |
Police asked Ms Hutton why she did not ring for an ambulance. She said: "Because he'd gone I didn't know what to say or do." | |
She told police she stopped Tariq from ringing an ambulance saying she needed time to think. She later told people Hamzah had gone to live with relatives in Portsmouth. | |
The court heard Ms Hutton told officers she ordered a takeaway after her son died. She said she continued claiming child benefits in Hamzah's name and began drinking a litre of vodka a day. | |
'Hand shaking' | 'Hand shaking' |
Mr Dove told the court he saw vodka bottles in the kitchen and then went upstairs, where he could see a pile of soiled nappies which had "gone mouldy". | |
On entering Ms Hutton's bedroom, the officer saw two cots and initially did not see Hamzah. | On entering Ms Hutton's bedroom, the officer saw two cots and initially did not see Hamzah. |
He told jurors was looking for evidence of child neglect and cruelty. | |
Mr Dove said: "The bedding was all soaked. The place was in such a state. I've never seen anything like it." | |
He then briefly left the house, before going back in to begin a search of the cots. | He then briefly left the house, before going back in to begin a search of the cots. |
The detective told jurors he had to remove clothing, shoes and layers of blankets before finding Hamzah's body. | The detective told jurors he had to remove clothing, shoes and layers of blankets before finding Hamzah's body. |
He said: "I was shocked, I thought is that real? I didn't expect to find a child." | |
Hamzah's body was "mummified" and that there were no signs of life, he explained. | |
Mr Dove said: "My right hand starting shaking, wobbling, I had no control of it, so I grabbed it to calm myself down." | Mr Dove said: "My right hand starting shaking, wobbling, I had no control of it, so I grabbed it to calm myself down." |
The detective told other officers what he had found. | The detective told other officers what he had found. |
The prosecution has told the court Hamzah had starved to death as a result of his mother's neglect. | |
She denies one charge of manslaughter by gross negligence and claims her child died from natural causes. | She denies one charge of manslaughter by gross negligence and claims her child died from natural causes. |
The trial continues. | The trial continues. |