Mum Murdered Toddler And Hid Mummified Body

A woman has been found guilty of murdering her toddler son, then hiding his mummified body in her house for months.

The remains of 23-month-old Declan Hainey were discovered in his cot on March 30, 2010.

He had last been seen in public in July the previous year.

During the months that the child's body lay in the house in Paisley, 37-year-old Kimberley Hainey pretended to her family and to health workers that he was alive.

She would tell her parents that he was at nursery and made up stories about what he did there.

The former heroin addict made repeated excuses to drugs counsellors as to why they could not visit the house.

Her family gave her money when she claimed she needed it for Declan's nursery fees.

They also gave her money for a passport for the boy when she pretended she was taking him on holiday, and later lied that he was too young to go on the trip.

The High Court in Glasgow heard that there were no concerns for Declan until after his first birthday in April 2009.

After that, circumstances changed as Hainey abused alcohol.

Declan was withdrawn from his wider family and neglected.

Hainey would leave him alone while she went out drinking, sometimes for up to two days at a time.

Declan's body was found after Hainey's GP and her health visitor became concerned when she failed to take her son for an immunisation jab.

The discovery was made by Hainey's mother, stepfather and aunt in the flat at Bruce Road in Paisley, Renfrewshire.

In the cot, beside his body, lay a dirty nappy and the cellophane wrap from a packet of cigarettes.

The rest of the house was in a mess and several empty vodka bottles were amongst rubbish lying around the house.

The family were traumatised by the episode.

Hainey's mother, Elizabeth Rodden, gave evidence during the trial and, addressing her daughter from the witness box, said: "May God forgive you."

The court was told by experts that, when Declan was found, he had been dead for months, although the cause of death could not be established.

Throughout the trial, Hainey denied the charges against her and insisted that Declan had died in his sleep.

She claimed she had suffered a breakdown and was pretending to herself that he was still alive.