A drug-dealing mum from Fraserburgh whose baby son died after ingesting a narcotic at her home was jailed for seven years today.
Amy Beck was convicted of exposing three-month-old Olly-James Sievewright to mephedrone, known as M-cat, and MDMA which is commonly known as ecstasy.
The baby boy died on December 22 2019 as a result of ingesting M-cat combined with the effects of a peritonitis infection the child was suffering.
A judge told Beck, 32, at the High Court in Edinburgh: “A custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal in your case.”
Judge Fiona Tait said that, as a drug dealer and user, Beck had allowed drugs to be in close proximity to children.
Former Sandhaven resident’s criminality revealed in court
The judge said it was apparent from a background report that was prepared on Beck ahead of her sentencing that she had tried to minimise her role in the offending.
Beck was earlier found guilty of exposing the now deceased tot to illicit substances between September 17 2019 and the date of his death at an address on St Magnus Road in Sandhaven.
The offence which breached the Children and Young Persons (Scotland) Act stated “as a result of said ingestion of mephedrone, combined with the effects of peritonitis, he died”.
Beck, of School Street, Fraserburgh, was also convicted of being concerned in the supply of the Class B drug mephedrone over a period of almost three years and further charges of exposing children to drugs.
Her earlier trial at the High Court in Aberdeen heard that the disgraced woman’s former home in Sandhaven was “polluted” by drugs.
Defence counsel David Moggach said it was never a part of the Crown case against Beck of a deliberate intention on her part to carry out ill-treatment.
He said the first-time offender was assessed as posing a medium risk and added: “She is not without her own problems”.
Mr Moggach told the court: “It is an unusual case and a difficult case to deal with.”
M-cat baby death trial heard conflicting claims concerning medical evidence
After the baby died, a postmortem was carried out and jurors heard evidence that mephedrone might have compromised the baby’s ability to deal with all the implications of contracting peritonitis.
During the trial, it was claimed that the main cause of death on the autopsy report was listed as peritonitis, which can be caused by a ruptured bowel, and M-cat exposure was listed as a secondary cause.
The defence advocate stated that the implications of M-cat being in a young child’s bloodstream were unknown.
But jurors also heard testimony from histopathologist Dr Andreas Marnerides, an expert in the study of tissues and cells, who reviewed Olly-James’ autopsy and postmortem.
He stated that, in his opinion, “on the balance of probability” M-cat exposure in combination with peritonitis was the main cause of Olly-James’ death.
“It was the combination effect that resulted in death,” Dr Marnerides added.
The jury deliberated the case against Beck for just over a day before unanimously convicting her for causing the baby boy’s death.
Amy Beck denied being guilty of child neglect and drug-dealing charges
She sobbed uncontrollably in the dock as guilty verdicts were delivered, including being found guilty, by majority, of two other charges that she wilfully neglected two other children, who also had drugs in their system.
She was also unanimously found guilty of a single charge of being concerned in the supply of M-cat.
Beck then wept as she was remanded and led away to remain in custody while awaiting Wednesday’s sentencing hearing.
During the trial, jurors heard from advocate depute Erin Campbell about how Beck had “polluted” the family home with illicit drugs, which had found their way into her baby’s bloodstream.
“It was in the air, on surfaces and on DVD cases,” Ms Campbell told the court, adding: “Mephedrone was in the milk, in the baby bottle and in the kitchen.
“His bottle on the day he died had mephedrone in it. The environment became polluted by these drugs.”
Forensic pathologist Dr Tamara McNamee stated while giving evidence that she “cannot fathom” how the illicit party drug that was found in the child’s bloodstream had not contributed to Olly-James’ death.
Dr McNamee explained: “He was a three-month-old child with a failure to thrive and a significant natural disease and I do believe that is the component that has tipped him over the edge in this circumstance”.
Advocate depute Erin Campbell asked: “The component being?”
And the expert witness replied: “The mephedrone exposure”.
Beck also faced accusations that she lied to police about her whereabouts on the morning of her infant son’s death.
Disgraced Fraserburgh mum Amy Beck initially lied to the police
Detective Constable Marie Buckley told the court that Beck had initially provided her with a false police statement following Olly-James’ death.
But when confronted by DC Buckley with evidence that she had left her home at around 2am to take drugs, Beck then provided a new statement admitting that she had indeed left her home and received a lift to a house in Fraserburgh.
She further admitted that, when she got to the house, she took a line of cocaine upon entering inside.
Beck said she neglected to mention this to the police in the first instance because Olly-James had been left with her 14-year-old brother when her then-partner drove to Fraserburgh to collect her.
Baby’s father fled court while being questioned as he gave evidence
Beck’s former friend Olivia Guntrip told the trial that Beck had arrived to supply M-cat to someone at the property.
Guntrip also told the court that Beck asked her to lie to the police after Olly-James had died.
Beck and Guntrip then returned to Beck’s house in Sandhaven later on December 22 2019, with her infant son becoming unresponsive soon after.
Olly-James was rushed by air ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where he died later that day.
The child’s dad, Kieran Sievwright, also gave evidence during court proceedings but, in dramatic scenes, attempted to flee the courtroom after being confronted with evidence of his own drug taking.
READ MORE: Dad tells M-cat baby death trial he had never taken drugs before being shown video of him snorting a line of white powder
Dad of baby in M-cat death trial flees court after being asked about his own drug taking
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.
