A mother who scalded her toddler with hot water and then tried to cover her tracks instead of getting urgent medical attention has been convicted of murder.
Nineteen-month-old Gracie suffered horrific burns but instead of rushing her to hospital, Katie Crowder used vital time to try to hide her crime and make it appear like an accident.
Gracie, who had burns covering around 65 percent of her body, later died of her injuries in hospital.
A police investigation found Crowder had taken cocaine before Gracie died.
Crowder was found guilty of her murder at Nottingham Crown Court today following a unanimous jury verdict.
The 26-year-old admitted to police that she had filled a bucket of hot water to clean up after the family dog, but she left the bucket on the bathroom floor and went to put on some washing.
She claimed that when she returned, Gracie was on the bathroom floor with the bucket tipped over and the floor flooded with water.
However, when officers arrived on the scene of the incident, they found very little water on the floor when they arrived.
The prosecution disputed Crowder’s claims that Gracie had tipped the water over herself, explaining that she could not have sustained the severity of burns that she had in this way. The prosecution argued that the pain caused by her injuries would have made Gracie scream and that there was no way that Crowder could have been unaware what was happening.
The court heard that Gracie’s injuries were not immediately life-threatening and had she received help straight away she could very well have lived. Experts said Gracie’s death would not have been immediate and police believe that Crowder used the time to clean up after herself before getting help.
Detective Chief Inspector Rob Routledge, Senior Investigating Officer on the case, said: “I welcome today’s verdict which serves as justice for Gracie. What her mother Crowder put her through was absolutely appalling and I am glad she will now be jailed for this horrendous crime.
“Nobody likes to think a parent can do that to their own child.
“There was an element of that which we had to face as well as detectives working on this case. We had to keep focus. We were asking people to believe that a mum had deliberately scalded her child to death. That’s hard to accept, that anyone – but particularly a parent – could do that.
“But when it came to being interviewed, Crowder’s inconsistencies were apparent and her story raised concerns from the outset.”
He added: “I went to the post-mortem examination, which I don’t mind saying is probably one of the most difficult things I’ve done,
“There was a moment when I had to walk away. It was a challenging thing to have to do, and I was mindful that I had to ask others in my team to put themselves through it as well.”
Crowder pleaded not guilty but the jury returned a guilty verdict after a three-week trial.
A post-mortem examination gave Gracie’s cause of death as the direct effect of scalds.
Crowder will be sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday 16 December 2020.
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Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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