Emma Barnett, 36, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years and 7 days for the murder of her 14-month-old son Oakley. She poisoned him with a lethal mixture of prescription medications while hiding in her home's loft after a court ordered the child's removal into care. The court found the act premeditated, noting she created a false trail and confessed to police upon confrontation.
A mother of six who fed her baby a lethal cocktail of drugs after he was ordered to be taken into care has been jailed for 21 years.
Emma Barnett, 36, was unanimously convicted of killing her one-year-old son Oakley after poisoning the tot with prescription medications in December 2024. Barnett, of Loughton in Essex, was jailed for life for the murder and handed a minimum term of 21 years and 7 days following a trial at Cambridge Crown Court.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice Derek Sweeting, detailed how Barnett had learned that Oakley was to be removed from her care during a remote family court hearing on November 8, 2024. She already had her five older children taken away by authorities. Before the hearing could begin, the court heard Barnett drove her car to Epping Forest and then collected prescription medications on her way home.
She then created a false trail by claiming to have visited a friend's house and then went to Epping Forest, when in fact she was hiding in the loft of her home with her 14-month-old son. While hiding, Barnett added the antihistamine promethazine, which can induce sedation, and the antidepressant mirtazapine to juice and milk in Oakley's baby bottles. Following the family court hearing ordering Oakley's removal, social workers and police sought to locate and take him.
As the evening progressed, concern grew for the welfare and safety of both Barnett and her son. Barnett's car was later found at Epping Forest, leading to an extensive search involving a helicopter and police dogs. Police then attended her address shortly before midnight, where the sound of a baby crying coming from the loft was heard.
An officer attempted to talk Barnett down, but at 12:16 am the situation changed dramatically after she was given the option of allowing a camera in or a forced entry would be made. In response to a question from an officer, Barnett said I killed him. Officers immediately forced entry and found Oakley unresponsive. They also found Barnett had attempted to end her own life.
Despite being revived at the scene and rushed to hospital, Oakley later succumbed to brain injuries caused by the overdose on December 31, 2024. Sentencing Barnett to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years and 7 days, Judge Sweeting stated: This was the killing of a very young and vulnerable child wholly dependent on you, brought about by your deliberate actions.
He said he was certain Barnett had set about planning her own death in advance and acknowledged she had a recognised mental health disorder. The judge noted that although the circumstances were nuanced and complex, the aggravating features outweighed those in mitigation. Oakley was exceptionally vulnerable, a baby of only 14 months who was wholly dependent on his mother. During the sentencing, Christopher Paxton KC, prosecuting, argued for a whole life term given the premeditation of the killing.
He said it could be properly concluded that Barnett was planning to kill Oakley and then herself, having known for weeks that the removal of Oakley was inevitable. Barnett rejected offers of help because she wanted to keep Oakley close to her so she could carry out her premeditated plan.
Paxton said Barnett made substantial efforts to create a false trail, such as leaving her car in Epping Forest and then walking home, to give the impression she was not at home. In reality, Barnett had locked herself in the loft of her home in the lead-up to the killing while the court hearing over Oakley's care was ongoing.
She had joined the court remotely after claiming Oakley had fallen ill with gastroenteritis and that no one else could care for him-a ruse contradicted by care workers and her own mother. The prosecution stressed that she rejected offers of help to maintain her predetermined plan. The court also heard that no one actually witnessed Oakley's reported symptoms.
The case underscores the tragic consequences of a mother's desperate actions in the face of impending loss of custody, resulting in the death of an innocent infant and a lengthy prison sentence
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