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| Kaiya Blake suffocated by mother Chantelle | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| A mother who suffocated her four-year-old daughter in Manchester has been detained in a mental health unit. | A mother who suffocated her four-year-old daughter in Manchester has been detained in a mental health unit. |
| At Manchester Crown Court, Chantelle Blake, 31, of Garthorne Close, Moss Side, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of daughter Kaiya. | |
| Kaiya's body was found at their home in September 2011, after Blake was treated in hospital for self-inflicted injuries, police said. | Kaiya's body was found at their home in September 2011, after Blake was treated in hospital for self-inflicted injuries, police said. |
| Blake entered her guilty plea on the basis of diminished responsibility. | Blake entered her guilty plea on the basis of diminished responsibility. |
| The court heard she was suffering from delusions and hallucinations and has since been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia. | |
| Mr Justice MacKay said: "You were thinking in a distorted and deluded way, but you genuinely believed that you were acting to protect your daughter from harm by persons who wished her ill. | Mr Justice MacKay said: "You were thinking in a distorted and deluded way, but you genuinely believed that you were acting to protect your daughter from harm by persons who wished her ill. |
| 'Happy young girl' | 'Happy young girl' |
| "You thought that because you were mentally ill at the time." | "You thought that because you were mentally ill at the time." |
| Blake made an anonymous 999 call from Manchester Royal Infirmary, stating that she was receiving treatment for wounds to her wrists and her daughter was dead at home, police said. | Blake made an anonymous 999 call from Manchester Royal Infirmary, stating that she was receiving treatment for wounds to her wrists and her daughter was dead at home, police said. |
| Officers said they attempted to call the number back without success, but shortly after a ward sister called police after Blake told her she had suffocated her child. | Officers said they attempted to call the number back without success, but shortly after a ward sister called police after Blake told her she had suffocated her child. |
| When police arrived at the house they found Kaiya in bed with a pillow over her face. | When police arrived at the house they found Kaiya in bed with a pillow over her face. |
| Det Ch Insp Phil Reade said: "Kaiya's death was an absolute tragedy. She was a happy young girl with her whole life ahead of her. | Det Ch Insp Phil Reade said: "Kaiya's death was an absolute tragedy. She was a happy young girl with her whole life ahead of her. |
| "Her death has left a huge hole in her family's life that can never ever be filled." | "Her death has left a huge hole in her family's life that can never ever be filled." |
| Blake will only be released when cleared by doctors and by a Ministry of Justice independent review panel. | Blake will only be released when cleared by doctors and by a Ministry of Justice independent review panel. |
| The court was told that Kaiya's father, Alexander Glenford, was based in Jamaica but that Blake and Kaiya regularly visited him. | |
| Blake cared for Kaiya as a single parent but Mr Glenford "kept in touch with the defendant and maintained an interest in her and his daughter". | |
| Manchester City Council said it had had contact with the family before Kaiya's death and a serious case review was to be carried out by the city's safeguarding children board into its involvement. | |
| Graham Reeds QC, for the prosecution, told the court the first signs of Blake's "odd behaviour" had started to show in late 2009 when she was taken in for a psychiatric assessment after calling police about a domestic disturbance. | |
| 'Grave error' | 'Grave error' |
| In 2010, she received a police caution for assaulting her daughter outside a Poundstretcher in Hulme and the following year, the court heard, the child was taken away from her. | In 2010, she received a police caution for assaulting her daughter outside a Poundstretcher in Hulme and the following year, the court heard, the child was taken away from her. |
| Kaiya was returned to her mother shortly before she was killed. | Kaiya was returned to her mother shortly before she was killed. |
| Mr Reeds said: "That separation seems to have been the catalyst for the acceleration of her delusional behaviour." | Mr Reeds said: "That separation seems to have been the catalyst for the acceleration of her delusional behaviour." |
| Judy Khan QC, mitigating, said: "Miss Blake does not accept that she was mentally ill but she does accept that she was not in her right mind at the time of killing her daughter. | |
| "She maintains that she and her daughter were persecuted by her neighbours and she did not, nor has she ever, suffered from delusions or hallucinations. | "She maintains that she and her daughter were persecuted by her neighbours and she did not, nor has she ever, suffered from delusions or hallucinations. |
| "She agrees that whatever the situation was with all those external factors, she made a grave error in killing her daughter and she will bitterly regret it for the rest of her life." | "She agrees that whatever the situation was with all those external factors, she made a grave error in killing her daughter and she will bitterly regret it for the rest of her life." |
| She said Blake did it out of "love and fear" and to protect her daughter. | She said Blake did it out of "love and fear" and to protect her daughter. |