Mother jailed over girl fire death

Toddler Jodie Ann Brown died from smoke inhalation after an electrical fire broke out at her home in Hillfields, Coventry, on July 15 last year while her mother Michelle Brown was out.

Coventry Crown Court, where Brown 37, was jailed for seven-and-a-half years, heard she left her daughter unsupervised in an upstairs bedroom while she attended a County Court hearing.

The court was told that Jodie Ann was trapped in the unventilated room for more than three hours, during which time a "slow, smouldering fire" broke out.

Brown, who has three other children living in England and two more living in her native Jamaica, repeatedly tried to "cover her tracks" after the tragedy, the court heard.

She claimed she had left Jodie Ann in the care of a friend, telling police the child had been alive and playing when she returned from the court hearing.

The truth, however, was that she arrived home to find her daughter in a smoke-filled room covered in soot, Tim Green, prosecuting, told the court.

He said: "By the time the defendant had left court, Jodie was almost certainly dead."

He said Brown took "a dreadful risk" leaving the toddler unattended, adding: "Any person, whether they have children of their own or not, would not dream of leaving a baby alone for hours on end in a bedroom on their own."

Brown, who sobbed loudly as the verdict was returned, was also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.