An angry mother has left her toddler to starve in a ‘grubby’ flat and neglected her for months, an investigation finds.
Margaret Wade’s two-year-old daughter Lauren was “thin and dirty” and infested with lice when she died.
She also had a soggy diaper and bald spots on her head.
A further investigation into Lauren’s death began today.
Wade, 41, and her partner Marie Sweeney, 40, left the toddler to starve in their flat in Sighthill in Glasgow, a judge was told.
The toddler suffered for months without proper nutrition or care and was infested with ‘thousands’ of head lice.
On March 20, 2015, a 999 call was made after she was determined to be “unresponsive” in the house.
Lauren was rushed to hospital but was pronounced dead just 30 minutes later.
Wade told concerned nurses that Lauren had been suffering from a virus for a few days.
But an autopsy revealed the toddler had been the victim of “severe neglect” prior to her death.
Wade, who later said she was “not to blame” for the death, and Sweeney were each jailed for six years and four months in 2019.
The duo — charged with murdering Lauren — had pleaded guilty to the lowered charges of neglecting the toddler between June 2014 and March 2015.
A five-week fatal accident investigation (FAI) began today at the Glasgow Sheriff Court.
School nurse Sharon McIntyre, 52, told the hearing how she made an unannounced visit to Wade’s flat in June 2014 after the mother canceled a prearranged appointment.
The nurse claimed she was told the flat was a ‘mess’ but was able to persuade her to be let in.
Ms McIntyre added: ‘When I entered the living room there was a mattress on the floor in front of the TV and a large pile of clothes on and behind the sofa.
‘Lauren’s bed was also in the living room.
“The place was dingy, if not untidy.
“I remember Lauren trying to crawl into my lap.”
Miss McIntyre stated that Wade refused to provide help in fighting head lice and was told she was “saving herself.”
Prosecutor Selina Brown asked Miss McIntyre if she believed Wade could handle it herself, and she replied, “Probably not at the time.”
During the hearing, Ms McIntyre was told that after the visit, Ms. McIntyre referred Wade to social work and a positive parenting program.
The FAI was also concerned about concerns from primary school staff of Wade’s two older daughters about the family’s handling of head lice treatment.
Deputy Headteacher Yvonne Adams, 55, recalled a meeting she had with Wade at school.
She said, “There was a head lice crawling all over Mom’s forehead and my table. I thought she was vulnerable too.”
Former headteacher Anne Healy, 67, told the hearing that she also met Wade who “kept her hood up” the whole time.
“The fact that she held up her hood, what would that mean?” asked Miss Brown.
Miss Healy replied, “I think it was because she had head lice.”
Wade’s former health visitor Carol Murray, 60, claimed she met her and Lauren 11 days after giving birth.
She stated that Wade was an “attentive” mother who “interacted” with her daughter.
Ms Murray said there were no issues with Wade at the time that she would have raised with social work teams.
The witness previously claimed that she quit Wade’s health visitor in March 2013 after taking a new job.
The FAI continues for Sheriff Principal Craig Turnbull.
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