POSING for the camera in a bright orange dress, Verphy Kudi looked like any teen celebrating her 18th birthday.
But behind her smile, the dancing teen was hiding a sinister secret – while she enjoyed a six-day bender, her baby daughter Asiah was left at home alone to die.
Verphy Kudi was filmed partying while her daughter starved to deathPA
Baby Asiah was left alone for six daysTwitter
The 20-month-old was so hungry and dehydrated that she tragically did not even have the “strength to cry”.
She sadly starved to death at home in Brighton just weeks before Christmas in 2019.
In a further insult to her daughter’s memory, Kudi spun a web of lies claiming she had been caring for Asiah all day as she was unwell.
But her deceit was exposed when chilling CCTV revealed she had gone partying while Asiah went through “almost unimaginable suffering”.
Now, we revisit the shocking case that horrified the nation.
Asiah’s ordeal began on December 5, 2019, when Kudi was captured on CCTV leaving the baby alone in her flat.
The mum first headed for dinner with her boyfriend in Fulham, South West London, before later meeting up with some pals.
Over the course of six days, she attended parties in London, Coventry and Solihull – all while claiming her mum was looking after Asiah.
Kudi even broke down on one of the days and said she was missing the tot and was “not used” to being away from her.
On December 8 – three days after leaving her daughter – those worries appeared to have vanished as she was filmed in a nightclub.
Wearing a tight orange dress with her hair pulled into a ponytail, Kudi could be seen dancing as music blared in the background.
Further footage showed the mum looking worse for wear as she finally returned home on December 11.
But even then Kudi failed to save her daughter and waited three hours before she finally called 999, saying: “Help, my baby is not waking up.”
Paramedics discovered Asiah cold and unresponsive with signs of rigor mortis already setting in.
The baby was rushed to Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital in Brighton but was tragically declared dead on arrival.
Kudi is pictured leaving her home on December 5PA
The mum spent six days celebrating her birthdayPA
She finally returned home on December 11PA
The “hysterical” mum claimed Asiah had been unwell all day and fell asleep after eating a banana and drinking some milk.
Kudi then said she never woke up again.
But the mum changed her story when police showed her CCTV that confirmed she left the flat alone on December 5 and didn’t return until six days later.
She told them: “I’m heartbroken, my heart hurts so much I don’t know how to breathe. I’m trying so hard to be strong.”
A post-mortem exam found baby Asiah was dehydrated and starved before she died from influenza and neglect.
It later emerged that at the time of her death, the little girl and her mum were living in supported housing for young families run by the YMCA on behalf of Brighton and Hove City Council.
Staff at the unit had called police after reviewing CCTV footage following the baby’s death.
TwitterAsiah had been left home alone 11 times in two months[/caption]
Tragically, Asiah did not have a social worker even though Kudi had repeatedly gone missing since the age of 14 and had been the subject of a number of police appeals.
The baby had also been left alone 11 times in two months and heartbreakingly did not even cry as she knew it was pointless.
A safeguarding review was launched by Brighton and Hove Safeguarding Children Partnership (BHSCP) following the horror.
But a coroner ruled Asiah’s death “could not have been predicted”.
Kudi was jailed for nine years in August 2021 after pleading guilty to manslaughter.
She sobbed as she was told she will serve two-thirds of her sentence in prison before being released on licence.
The judge slammed “deceitful and manipulative” Kudi for choosing to “prioritise your desires over the needs of your child”.
Sentencing, Judge Christine Laing added: “Asiah was alone in that flat for six days, less two hours, unable to do anything to draw attention to her plight.
“It’s a particularly distressing aspect of this case that in the opinion of Dr Cleghorn, it’s unlikely that Asiah would have cried for any length of time because she had already learnt that in many occasions there was unlikely to be a response.
“And when her suffering became too great, she would not have had the strength to cry.”
FacebookKudi prioritised her own enjoyment above her daughter’s life[/caption]
PAShe was jailed for nine years[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
