A mother who killed her toddler by suffocating him with a plastic bag has been sentenced to life in prison.
Daniel Green was just two when paramedics were called to his home on Feb. 2 after a report of concern was made about him.
Paramedics tried their best to save the little boy, but he died on the spot.
Carol Hodgson, 40, of Guisborough, pleaded guilty to the murder of Daniel at Teesside Crown Court in June.
At a Friday hearing, it was said that Hodgson would appear in family court on the day of the murder after Daniel’s father filed for joint custody.
Hodgson’s murder was alleged to be “premeditated.”
Prosecutor Alistair Macdonald QC said that when paramedics entered the address on the fateful day they were resuscitating Hodgson’s mother, Daniel did not respond.
The judge acknowledged that paramedics fought bravely to try to resuscitate him, but he was unable to be resuscitated.
Hodgson regained consciousness, but after opening her eyes, she told paramedics “let me die.”
Hodgson was taken to hospital but kept silent about what had happened to her son. She later asked to be left alone and kept saying ‘please let me die’.
When tentatively interviewed, Hodgson denied killing her son, saying she remembered taking tablets and wanted to kill herself, but didn’t want to harm Daniel.
Her mother found a note that read: ‘Just call the police mom, don’t go to the bedroom, you don’t need to see it. I love you and I’m so sorry’.
Hodgson was found with two wounds to her neck and a bloodied kitchen knife nearby.
Other notes were found where she said the only way to protect Daniel is to “take him with you.”
Hodgson said she couldn’t remember anything after taking the tablets and said her plan was to kill only herself.
However, an investigation revealed that she had choked Daniel with a bag.
In a victim punishment sentence, Daniel’s father said his young son had been “his whole world.”
“He was my whole world,” said the heartbroken father.
“I used to call him my little star. I miss hearing him laugh and holding him in my arms.
“The shocking nature of the loss has made everything worse.
‘I now suffer from PTSD and nightmares. I haven’t been able to work and have been sick since it all happened.
‘My father and mother are broken to the bone. Even family friends have been hit hard.
“Some days I find myself thinking it might be easier if I wasn’t here anymore.
“I never got to see his first steps or hear his first words, all that has been stolen from me.”
As a mitigating circumstance, Richard Wright, QC, said Hodgson accepted full responsibility for her son’s murder.
“There is no part of this limitation that tries to avoid or shift that responsibility onto anyone else.
“She loved Daniel dearly, and her remorse couldn’t be deeper or more sincere.”
Sentencing, Judge Paul Watson, QC, Middlesbrough’s recorder, told Hodgson: “There is no doubt that this was a premeditated murder planned by you in advance.
“You deliberately killed Daniel and then made a determined attempt to kill yourself, which was prevented by your mother’s arrival.
“So the sentence is life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years and four months before you are eligible for parole.
‘That period will be shortened by the 158 days that you have been in pre-trial detention. I also give all additional assignments that I am legally obliged to do.’
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