Couple Who Almost Killed Girl, 5, By Making Her Lay In A Freezing Bath For Hours Have Been Jailed
A couple from Leeds have been jailed after torturing their five-year-old girl "almost to death" by forcing her to lay down in a freezing cold bath for hours as punishment for misbehaving.
The young girl's mother, 29-year-old Georgia Newman, and step-father Jordan Michael Kilkenny, also 29, forced the child to lie in a bath filled with freezing cold water for up to three hours as a punishment for misbehaving, Leeds Crown Court heard.
The court heard how the defendants had attempted to warm the girl up after she became unresponsive, before eventually calling emergency services.
When paramedics arrived at the property in Leeds, West Yorkshire, they found the child unconscious, frothing at the mouth, and blue in appearance.
Afterwards, she suffered a severe seizure and had to be put on a ventilator with doctors expecting her to die.
Prosecutor Richard Woolfall told the court how the paramedic could not straighten out the girl because she had gone so stiff due to how cold she was.
Doctors did not expect her to survive after he core body temperature plummeted to 25C - about 12C lower than normal.
The girl now lives with her biological father after miraculously making a full recovery.
Following their arrest, Newman told police that the girl had slipped and banged her head, and Kilkenny claimed to have no idea why she was so cold.
Police uncovered a google search made by Kilkenny where he was looking "what would happen if a child was placed in a cold bath for 45 minutes" the court heard.
The child later gave a statement to police and told them that it was the stepfather who put her in the bath, under the instruction of her mother, for her misbehaving.
Alex Menary, defending Newman, said the mother was heavily pregnant at the time and suffered from depression and anxiety.
He said: "She has had three years to reflect on her behaviour, she bitterly regrets what happened. "There is clear and genuine remorse."
Mark Foley, defending Kilkenny, said: "At no point did he intend to cause serious harm. He is disgusted by his actions."
Newman was sentenced to three years and six months in prison, while Kilkenny was sentenced to three years and four months.
Judge Robin Mairs said: "It was a cruel and unusual punishment and you must have known it would have caused considerable discomfort. "She was subjected to an extreme, calculated, and torturous punishment.
"Medical staff recognised that death was just minutes away. "That was the punishment you inflicted on your daughter. "The delay in calling the ambulance, I have little doubt, was concern for yourself and not the child. Your parental culpability is equal."
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