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The parents of a 10-month-old boy who died after suffering a "litany of injuries" which they tried to hide by smothering him in baby powder have each been jailed for five years.
Neo Craig died from massive internal bleeding after being punched in the stomach by his drug addict father, James Craig, as he lashed out at the child's mother on Christmas Eve last year.
The Old Bailey heard Neo died after a string of failings by police, doctors and social services, who were aware of his "derelict" home life, but did not intervene despite a number of warning signs.
Neo, who had been placed on the child protection register, suffered 10 severe injuries in the months before his death, including fractures of several ribs and a fractured right thigh caused by twisting.
His parents were spending Pfund250 a day on their crack cocaine habit, funded by a Pfund60,000 inheritance which his mother, qualified nurse Sharma Dookhooha, had received.
The baby tested positive for cocaine when he was born but the results were twice ignored by doctors.
The court heard he had been seen by a health visitor on Oct 16 when he was recovering from fractures to his ribs and thigh.
Richard Whittam, prosecuting, said: "He was covered from neck to ankle in white baby powder and the visitor was unable to tell if there were any marks on the body."
When Dookhooha was asked why there was so much talc on his skin, she replied: "I like the smell of the powder."
A serious case review was launched following his death, which made recommendations to improve training for social workers dealing with families where drug abuse was taking place.
Scrap dealer Craig, 26, and Dookhooha, 25, from Romford, Essex, admitted causing or allowing the death of their son at an earlier hearing.
Craig admitted lashing out with a "clenched fist" at his girlfriend during a row, while she was holding Neo, accidentally striking the baby and causing fatal internal bleeding to his stomach.
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