I loved my baby,’ mum tells inquest into death

[Alison J Stevens]

I loved my baby,’ mum tells inquest into death

By tom mack

A mother jailed over the death of her 17-day-old daughter told an inquest that she “loved that baby”.

Lisa Riozzi accidentally smothered her daughter Chloe to death while in bed.

The 45-year-old heroin addict has since been jailed for three years after pleading guilty to two charges of child cruelty by neglect.

Giving evidence at the inquest at Leicester Town Hall yesterday Riozzi said: “I loved that baby. I wouldn’t do anything to harm any of my children. It could have happened to anyone who wasn’t on drugs.”

Riozzi, who was handcuffed during the hearing, admitted having been a drug addict for several years.

She gave birth to Chloe at Leicester Royal Infirmary in October, 2007, but later discharged herself from hospital.

She said she would not have done that if staff had treated her differently.

Riozzi, of Sharmon Crescent, Braunstone Frith, said: “As soon as they knew I was a drug user their attitude changed. I don’t agree with how they treated me.”

She admitted buying heroin after discharging herself.

But she denied accusations made by midwives, who had given evidence during the two-day hearing, that she had left her hospital bed to buy heroin.

Riozzi said she had left the ward for a cigarette occasionally but never to buy heroin.

She said she had taken a bottle of the heroin substitute methadone into hospital with her.

Social worker John Harrison, who also gave evidence yesterday, said that when Riozzi left hospital he did not feel there was any chance of a magistrates’ court giving social workers permission to take Chloe away from Riozzi, despite her addiction.

He said: “We didn’t feel there were grounds to separate mum and baby. I spoke to her about staying in hospital for longer so we could gather more information but she was adamant she was going to leave and she became quite tearful.”

He said another issue was that NHS staff only found out Riozzi was an addict the day after Chloe’s birth. The inquest heard that Riozzi volunteered the information because she was worried about her baby.

Coroner Donald Coutts-Wood gave a narrative verdict stating that Chloe was treated properly by the authorities and visited regularly.

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/news/loved-baby-mum-tells-inq...