Wirral mother 999 call: I've killed my child A WOMAN called police in the early hours of the morning and “clearly stated she had killed her daughter” an inquest in Wirral heard yesterday.
The inquiry into the death of four-year-old Chloe Fletcher, at Wallasey Town Hall, was told that the female caller had made the admission from a telephone call box in Wallasey on Wednesday.
Wirral Coroner’s officer Arthur Flower told the inquest that, when uniformed police had arrived at the house on Oakdale Avenue, there were no lights on at first . Police had received the call from a public phone box at 1.42am and the police could get no answer at the front door, Mr Flower said.
He told Coroner Christopher Johnson that officers tried the back of the property and returned to the front when they saw a woman running down the road towards them. She identified herself to them as the person who had made the call.
The inquest was told they went into the house and entered the living room.
The woman sat down on the couch and told officers she “had tried to hang herself several hours previously” but the cord had snapped and as a consequence she had decided to call the police.
Mr Flower said: “Her demeanour was described as very calm and matter of fact.”
When officers went into an upstairs bedroom, they saw Chloe on a bed with a soft toy by her side.
She was pale and cold to the touch, and had three bruises on her forehead. She had over her a dressing gown, under which she was fully dressed.
He said: “The bathroom door was open, the light on and the bath was full of water.”
The inquest was told there “had been involvement with social services”, and also that Chloe had received her MMR jab in March.
The little girl’s body, which was identified by her paternal grandmother, Julie Marr, was taken to Alder Hey for the post mortem.
It confirmed the cause of Chloe’s death was drowning. The coroner’s court was told Chloe had been born on January 2, 2005, daughter of Laura Fletcher and Dean Marr.
It was also told the Crown Prosecution Service had authorised that her mother be charged with murder.
Coroner Christopher Johnson adjourned the inquest “pending the completion of criminal proceedings”.
Neighbours have described how Chloe was a “cute girl, with beautiful blonde curls.”
Floral tributes and cuddly toys have been building up outside the red semi-detached home, where the four-year-old lived with her mother, ever since news of her death began to spread.
She had recently started at nearby Oakdale nursery, whose owner, Karen Lane, paid tribute to the little girl.
She said: “In the short time that Chloe was with us, we knew her to be a happy, bright and cheerful member of our nursery.”
LAURA FLETCHER appeared at Wirral Magistrates Court yesterday afternoon charged with murdering her daughter.
Dressed in a white T-shirt and with swept-back black hair, she spoke only to confirm her name, age and address, looking far younger than her 22 years.
She did not enter a plea and was remanded in custody. She is due to reappear at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, May 21.Reporting restrictions were not lifted.
THE POST