Toddler left to fend for herself for days after mother commits suicide

A three-year-old girl had been alone for up to four days, police discovered when they entered her home in Port Talbot, Wales, on April 7 in response to concerns about her mother’s well-being.

They also discovered the body of her mother, 28-year-old Aimee Louise Evans. She had hanged herself in an upstairs bedroom, an inquest into her death heard this week.

PC Clive Morris told the coroner that when he entered the house he became “increasingly aware of the three-year-old’s well-being – the child had been there for three to four days and she was unkempt.”

It appeared she had survived on bread and butter.

He gave testimony that the deceased had sent a text to her mother on April 4 asking her own mom to collect her daughter because she was “ending it.”

Her mom replied: “Do not be daft” and asked her daughter what the matter was.

It was the last time they communicated.

The inquest heard Aimee’s mother had tried to make contact over the next few days, including visiting the property, but there had been no response.

PC Morris told the coroner: “Her mum said Aimee was a happy, outgoing individual who showed no signs of depression.

“She said her children were always well cared for – that they were always clean, tidy and well looked after.”

The three-year-old’s brother was away with his father at the time Aimee took her life.

A toxicology report revealed the deceased’s level of alcohol was 137 mg per 100 ml of blood. The drink and drive limit in the UK is 80 mg.

But otherwise, there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding Aimee’s death, and she had no history of mental problems, the policeman said.

“This is one of the hardest cases I’ve ever dealt with,” he added.

The coroner ruled the cause of death was self-inflicted hanging.

A friend told the media after the ruling: “Aimee’s passing has left a huge gap in our lives – she had so much to live for.

“I really wish she would have picked up the phone and confided in one of her friends, as we would have been there in seconds.”