• Son dies after mother’s clear medical neglect
• Court finds both parents guilty of child abuse

A Birmingham Crown Court in the UK has convicted a woman of gross negligence manslaughter following the death of her 12-year-old son.

The court found that Tamara Thomas and her husband Damion Thomas were guilty of child abuse.

The ruling showed that the mother failed to provide the necessary medical care for her son Joshua in 2022, who displayed symptoms of severe diabetic ketoacidosis that could have been noticed hours earlier.

Thomas only contacted emergency services after Joshua’s lips turned white, and he later died in hospital.

Both Thomas and her husband were convicted at Birmingham Crown Court, while the jury cleared the father of the manslaughter charge.

The court is expected to issue their final sentencing in June.

The couple had previously lived on Yarningdale Road in Kings Heath before moving to Tottenham Road in Hackney, and they were also found guilty of neglect relating to another child.

West Midlands Police investigator Vicki Harris described the inquiry as “highly emotional,” noting that the parents were aware of the warning signs of diabetes.

She added: “Expert medical evidence showed that the son’s death could have been prevented if medical help had been sought earlier.”

Harris continued: “These verdicts are the result of more than three years of intensive work to protect other children and examine complex medical evidence.”