Joshua Thomas collapsed at his home in Kings Heath in December 2022 and later died in Birmingham Children’s Hospital
15:05, 24 Mar 2026Updated 15:39, 24 Mar 2026
Damion Thomas and Tamara Thomas(Image: Nick Wilkinson)
A mum has been found guilty of unlawfully killing her 12-year-old son who died from undiagnosed and untreated diabetes.
Joshua Thomas collapsed at his home in Yarningale Road, Kings Heath on December 9, 2022, and died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital the following morning.
His mother Tamara Thomas told police she thought her son was asleep as he lay on the sofa when in reality he had likely slipped into a coma, a jury was told.
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Today, Tuesday, March 24, following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court the 45-year-old, who is a qualified teacher, was found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter.
Her husband Damion Thomas, 48, also a teacher who worked at Solihull Academy, was found not guilty of the offence but guilty of an alternative charge of child cruelty.
The jury deliberated for nearly 23 hours spread over several days.
The couple, who have since moved to London, were bailed ahead of a sentencing hearing fixed for June 19.
Joshua was one of their seven children at the time of his death.
He was described as a ‘lively and energetic’ boy who was a member of Sparkhill Harriers running club.
But he came down with cold-like symptoms in the week or two before his death.
Joshua was lethargic, had visibly lost weight and was asking for sweet drinks, the court was told.
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At 4am on December 9 he got up in the night to go to the toilet but was too weak to get to the downstairs bathroom, with the upstairs one unavailable due to renovation works taking place at the house.
Damion Thomas got up and helped him back to bed. Later that morning he went to work, leaving Joshua asleep in his bed.
At one point the boy was helped downstairs by a sibling and was laid down on the sofa.
Tamara Thomas, who was home-schooling the younger children, called 999 at 12.43pm having noticed his lips had turned white and his breathing had become faint.
Joshua was taken to Birmingham Children’s Hospital but never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 1.38am the following day, December 10, 2022.
The jury was told he suffered severe brain damage due to cardiac arrest.
Experts concluded he had untreated and undiagnosed Type 1 diabetes which led to diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a life-threatening condition which requires urgent treatment.
Prosecutors argued the parents should have spotted the warning signs of Type 1 diabetes because it was ‘in the family’ and Damion Thomas had it himself.
The dad gave evidence during the trial and told the jury he thought his son was ill with a cold, winter bug or even the flu.
Damion said he was concerned at seeing how Joshua was at 4am on December 9.
He claimed he felt he needed monitoring but did not require ’emergency level’ treatment at that stage.
Tamara Thomas opted not to take to the witness box.
But after being arrested she told police Joshua had not spoken or responded to anyone throughout the latter part of the morning on December 9.
She thought he was simply asleep, she said.
Tamara, who did not drive, claimed the original plan was for her husband Damion to take him to hospital when he returned from work.