Teenage mum killed newborn son with paracetamol overdose
A five-week-old baby died after he was given a paracetamol overdose by his teenage mother.
Ellie Jacobs, 19, gave her son Archie Jacobs a large amount of the painkiller at their home in Biddlesden near Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
South Central Ambulance Service received a 999 regarding the cardiac arrest of a baby on 5 June, 2020.
Archie, who had suffered a broken leg and foot at the hands of his mother just days before the incident, was pronounced dead at the scene.
A post-mortem examination found that the cause of Archie’s death was acute paracetamol toxicity.
Jacobs was arrested in connection with the death in October 2022 and charged with murder on 27 October last year.
The teenager, from Rushden, Northamptonshire, pleaded guilty to manslaughter by unlawful act and child cruelty and has been jailed for five years at Luton Crown Court.
Detective Chief Inspector Will Crowther, of the Major Crime Unit at Thames Valley Police, said: “This is an absolutely tragic case. Baby Archie died when he was only five weeks old.
“Ellie Jacobs has admitted causing Archie’s broken leg and foot in the days prior to his death, as well as admitting that she administered the large paracetamol overdose that caused his death.
"This has been a long investigation that has always sought to find the truth as to what happened to baby Archie, and I am glad that during the trial Ellie Jacobs finally accepted responsibility for her dreadful actions.”
