A mother who took cocaine in hospital after giving birth and then squashed her newborn baby to death as she slept next to her in the hospital bed could face a manslaughter charge, an inquest heard today.
Keira-Mae Jones was born 5lb 5oz in the early hours of May 14, 2020 at Barnsley Hospital after being induced, and was set to be taken into immediate foster care, Sheffield Coroners Court was told yesterday.
Her mother Aimee Jones, 32, had been taking opioid-based painkillers while expecting Keira-Mae, so the child had to be kept in the hospital for up to five days to watch if she was suffering from withdrawal symptoms.
On May 16, just two days after being born, the child suffered catastrophic brain damage and was found face down on her mother's bed in the hospital's neonatal ward. Following desperate attempts to resuscitate Keira-Mae, she was placed on life support - but this was switched off four months later. The inquest was told Jones went on to hold up to nine house parties and drinking with friends in the days following the child's death - and during the height of the pandemic.
Blood and urine tests taken from Aimee Jones a few hours after the child was found unresponsive revealed she had taken cocaine recently, the inquest heard.
When asked to pinpoint an exact day when the mother might have taken the drug, toxicologist Dr Dianna Garside said evidence suggested a three-day window between May 14 - the day Keira-Mae was born - and May 16 - the day she was found unresponsive, Yorkshire Live reports.
Aimee Jones, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was arrested on suspicion of 'criminal overlay' for taking the little girl to bed while under the influence of substances at the time.
She had denied she was on drugs hours before her daughter died, but said someone on cocaine could care for a baby because it 'makes you more alert'.
Keira-Mae's father and Aimee's husband Alex Jones, 38, also from Barnsley, was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, but the pair were both later released without any further action.
A neighbour claimed she saw Aimee throwing as many as nine house parties and drinking with friends in the days following the child's death - and during the height of the pandemic.
Senior coroner David Urpeth ruled yesterday that the little girl had died due to 'the unlawful act of the mother', adding he was 'surprised' charges hadn't been brought against her and he would appeal to the CPS to 're-assess' their decision.
Aimee Jones, from Barnsley, South Yorkshire, was arrested on suspicion of 'criminal overlay' for taking the little girl to bed while under the influence of substances at the time. She had denied she was on drugs hours before her daughter died, but said someone on cocaine could care for a baby as it 'makes you more alert'
Mr Urpeth said: 'I find the death of Keira-Mae Jones was due to the unlawful act of the mother.
'I am satisfied that the finding of cause of death in this case on the balance of probability is unlawful killing.
'I am surprised the CPS did not authorise charges in this tragic case. I would ask this case be referred back to the CPS to reassess their decision.'
Keira-Mae had been set to be subject to an interim care order, where a child is removed from their parents' care and fostered.
The inquest heard from the mother's next door neighbour, who said that she approached Aimee in the days after Keira-Mae was put on life support.
The neighbour told the court she was 'mortified' when Aimee told her 'I've suffocated her, I did it'.
The court was told that Aimee and Alex would often throw house parties, which were reported to police in the days following Keira-Mae's death.
The neighbour said: 'I think the actions after Keira's death states everything. These were house parties, Mrs Jones had friends round.'
She added: 'This was during a pandemic too, so it was illegal. It's just not what
