Woman sentenced to prison after locking her daughter in a drawer for three years

TW: Distressing details

It is always shocking when parents do something awful to their children—be it neglect, physical violence or psychological torment. Many people ask themselves how something like this can happen and go unnoticed for a very long time.

A mother kept her daughter hidden for three years

In view of a recent unbelievable story that is currently dominating the media, especially in the UK, people are probably asking themselves this question: How can this happen?

According to Bild, a mother hid her young daughter in the drawer of her bed for the entirety of her life - which, of course, has not been without consequences.

The British news agency PA has reported that an almost three-year-old girl was found neglected. According to the German publication, she made a truly desolate impression—with matted hair, a skin rash, and also unspecified deformities.

The background to the crime

Such a case of child abuse naturally disturbs many people, especially when the details are revealed. According to n-tv, the child had never seen the light of day before she was found. She also apparently did not know her own name. Details like these are given by the social worker who found the girl.

We can only speculate about the mother's real reasons for hiding her little girl. According to Bild, she wanted to hide the child from her other children and her partner, as it had been the result of a cryptic pregnancy. The young woman did not know she was pregnant until she suddenly gave birth, which can result in extreme psychological distress. According to her own statement, she was surprised by the pregnancy and felt intense panic.

The crime was finally discovered when her partner had returned to the house unexpectedly, in order to use the bathroom, as per CNN. He then heard noises coming from one of the bedrooms, and found the bed inside which the child was trapped. Turns out that whenever the mother was at work, her locked-up daughter was left alone.

Severe punishment for the mother

The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, has now been sentenced for her crime. At Chester Crown Court, a judicial institution in Castle Square in Chester, a judge has spoken very clearly about the ordeal.

You starved that little girl of any love, any proper affection, any proper attention, any interaction with others, a proper diet, much-needed medical attention.

You attempted to control this situation as carefully as you could but by sheer chance your terrible secret was discovered.

The consequences for (the child) were nothing short of catastrophic – physically, psychologically and socially.

The mother has been sentenced to prison for seven and a half years.

This article has been translated from Oh!MyMag DE.

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Sources used:

Bild: Mother hid daughter in this drawer

n-tv: "Overwhelming horror": Woman hides child in drawer under bed for years

RTL: Horrormother hides girl (3) in drawer since birth