Paul Cahill, 50, and Jodie Harris, 33, from Kings Norton, denied manslaughter and child cruelty
Birmingham Crown Court (Image: Nick Wilkinson/Birmingham Live)
A mum and dad have been cleared of unlawfully killing their newborn baby boy by lying on top of him following a five-year investigation.
Lennon Cahill tragically died in November 2020 aged just three days.
Paul Cahill, 50, and Jodie Harris, 33, both from Kings Norton, were subsequently charged with manslaughter and child cruelty.
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They reiterated their not guilty pleas at Birmingham Crown Court today, Friday, May 2.
Sally Howes KC, prosecuting, confirmed that the Crown formally offered no evidence on each offence after reviewing expert evidence and determining ‘there will not be a realistic prospect of conviction’.
Judge Paul Farrer KC acquitted both Mr Cahill and Ms Harris.
The manslaughter charge alleged each defendant ‘unlawfully killed Lennon Cahill by gross negligence’.
In particular, the offence stated they failed to adequately monitor him, caused him to lie in a position ‘deleterious’ (harmful) to his health and also failed to correct his position.
Further, the charge asserted Mr Cahill and Ms Harris positioned themselves in a harmful way to Lennon and failed to appreciate each other was positioned in a harmful way to the baby.
Ms Howes confirmed a post-mortem examination concluded Lennon’s cause of death as unascertained, but she added there were ‘strong indicators suggestive of an overlaying asphyxial mechanism’.
She said the evidence was mainly circumstantial, adding there were ‘other concerning features’ found in the post-mortem including pneumonia, while one expert suggested there had been ‘under-feeding’.
Ms Howes told the court ‘the bar is very high for gross negligence’ and must involve an ‘obvious risk of death’ which was clear at the time.
She added: “Hindsight, no matter how sorrowful and bitter, is not enough. The circumstances have to be truly, exceptionally bad.”
Ms Howes summarised the opinion of a defence expert with a ‘particular interest in co-sleeping’, who concluded infants were very unlikely to be caused death or harm by co-sleeping in most cases.
The prosecutor added it would have been ‘very difficult and possibly disingenuous to go behind’ the expert opinion.
Ms Howes said: “The Crown took the view that, apart from being able to establish a duty of care, all other limbs would have fallen short.”
The second charge of child cruelty alleged Mr Cahill and Ms Harris wilfully neglected Lennon.
However, Ms Howes confirmed one of the experts had concluded the baby had been fed overnight.
She then moved to a concern surrounding the state of their house at the time.
The prosecutor said: “There was evidence of social services involvement that six days prior to the death of the child when the house was considered to be a suitable standard for child habitation.
“It would be perhaps difficult for the Crown to suggest just filth would be enough for wilful neglect.
“Just because there’s a filthy, dirty house it doesn’t mean to say the child isn’t being looked after within the filthy and dirty house.”