Mother jailed after son drowned as she checked Facebook

A mother has been jailed at Hull Crown Court for child cruelty after her two-year-old son drowned in a pond – while she looked at Facebook on her phone. Police originally heard different stories from Barnett about what she’d been doing while Joshua was in the pond, but investigators confirmed from the time stamps on her phone she’d uploaded two photos to Facebook and taken a call from her boyfriend when Joshua was drowning. Joshua was unconscious when Barnett pulled him from the pond, and he died later at the hospital, the BBC reports. She was questioned by police officers and was found to be giving differing statements on what actually happened in the garden that day.

The Yorkshire Post reports Barnett’s family allegedly warned her about the dangers of having an uncovered pond in her yard with such a young child, but Barnett never covered it.

The presiding judge, Jeremy Richardson, had a few stern words to deliver to Claire Barnett about her Facebook usage while Joshua drowned.

Prosecuting lawyer Peter Moulson, QC, said it was not known how long Joshua had been in the ornamental pond when his mother rescued him.

Richardson told Claire that she has to live for the rest of her life the fact that her neglectful conduct caused the death of Joshua.

“For a parent to behave as you did, repeatedly, amounts to consistently bad parenting”.

“Any mother going about the house can be distracted by a telephone or a washing machine”. At a previous residence social service had been called on Claire as she let her children run unsupervised through the streets and 2 of the children were nearly hit by a vehicle.

The judge adds that Claire is a very serious risk to any child who would have a relationship with her.