A woman has been jailed for life after admitting to murdering her two-year-old son.
Carol Hodgson, a 39-year-old from Guisborough in North Yorkshire, had pleaded guilty to killing Daniel Hodgson Green earlier this year.
In June, she pleaded guilty to the murder charge at Teesside crown court. Now a judge has sentenced her to life imprisonment with a minimum of 18 years and four months.
In February, the defendant was found by her mother who called emergency services.
On arrival, police found Hodgson in cardiac arrest – the prosecution said ahead of the sentencing – and paramedics found Daniel lying “motionless” next to her.
The prosecutor told the court that it was “a planned killing” and that Hodgson had “deliberately” taken his life and “then attempted to kill herself but was found by her mother.”
The defendant’s mother found a note in the hallway that read: “Ring the police please, don’t go into the bedroom you don’t need to see this. I love you and I am sorry.”
Police found other notes by Hodgson that said the only way she could protect her son was to “take him with her”.
Daniel died shortly after arriving at the emergency department at James Cook University Hospital.
His death was recorded by a coroner as unascertained, but doctors suggested that he could have been suffocated.
In the house where the murder took place, police found a small knife covered in blood on a table opposite the bed – the court heard.
Hodgson was found with a large wound on one side of her neck and a smaller wound on the other side. A vacuum storage bag covered in blood was found next to her as she was on the floor. When she opened her eyes, she said “just let me die” – the court heard.
She then asked where Daniel was and was told he was being taken to hospital.
Before she was arrested, mental health staff conducted tests in the hospital and said they had no concerns over her psychological state.
When interviewed under caution, Hodgson said she could not remember what happened to Daniel and denied killing him.
She said that she loved her son and that she remembered taking tablets because she wanted to take her own life.
Hodgson also told police that she was due to attend a court hearing on the morning of her son’s death as his father had applied for joint custody.
Defending, Richard Wright QC, said Hodgson now accepts full responsibility for the murder of her son.
He said: “There is no part of this mitigation that seeks to avoid that responsibility or shift it to anyone else. Nothing we can say can begin to explain or excuse this offence. She asks herself how could she have done this?”
Sentencing Hodgson today, Judge Paul Watson QC said: “Emergency services found Daniel lifeless and brave efforts were made to revive him but he was already dead. He was suffocated by you.
“Your mother told police on the day of the incident you were due to attend court after Daniel’s father had made an application for more contact with Daniel.
“There is no doubt this was a premeditated killing. You deliberately killed Daniel and then made an attempt to kill yourself.
“You must have put the bag over his head until you were satisfied he was dead.”
During sentencing, this morning, Daniel’s father gave a victim impact statement describing his pain over his son’s death that he said caused him to suffer from PTSD and night terrors.
He told the court: “He was my entire world. I used to call him my little star. I miss hearing him laugh and holding him in my arms.”
