The mum of a toddler who spent weeks in hospital vomiting almost every day was found to have been secretly "poisoning" her with excessive amounts of salt.
The "beautiful and happy" 13-month-old girl was put in "regular and repeated distress" by her mother, who has been jailed for more than four years after pleading guilty to child cruelty and two counts of administering a noxious substance with intent to injure.
The woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - was jailed for her shocking and largely unexplained crimes at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday.
The court heard of how the woman would distract medics in order to tamper with her food and later tried to pin the blame on the little girl's dad when the abuse was uncovered.
The youngster was admitted to Alder Hey Children's Hospital for several weeks when she was just over one year old, while doctors attempted to identify the cause of a supposed mystery illness, which would routinely cause her to vomit.
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But the child's mother had in fact been secretly lacing her food with huge amounts of salt, the Liverpool Echo reports.
In February 2019, the tot first showed signs of nephrocalcinosis when checked out in hospital (Liverpool Echo)She then attempted to frame the father when her sickening abuse was discovered.
A trial previously heard that the 34-year-old's relationship with her baby's dad ended about three months after her birth in early 2018.
From the summer of that year onwards, she was taken to the GP and to Alder Hey "far more often than usually expected" with her mum "repeatedly reporting she was unwell from unknown causes".
In February 2019, the tot first showed signs of nephrocalcinosis - a condition caused by excessive calcium intake and a symptom of "salt poisoning". She was admitted to hospital the following month, where she remained for about eight weeks.
The mum was allowed to continue to feed the youngster, but she would "become distressed and begin vomiting some time after". It was also noted that the baby was "extremely thirsty".
Samples taken by hospital staff subsequently showed abnormally high levels of sodium in her blood. It was then concluded that the "only rational explanation was she had been poisoned with salt".
A statement read out to the court by Rebecca Smith, prosecuting, on the victim's dad's behalf described how his "beautiful and happy" child vomited on an "almost daily basis" and sometimes several times a day.
He himself was treated as a suspect during Merseyside Police's investigation after the defendant "told everybody it was him hurting her".
Their daughter was placed into foster care for 18 months as a result, although she is now "loving life and enjoying herself" and has made a full recovery. The statement added: "I can't understand why she did this, but I believe it was to make me suffer.
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The mum was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday (Liverpool Echo)"Why do that to her? Why hurt her to get at me?
"How long would she have put her through suffering, all for her own gain? It makes me feel sick thinking about what could have happened if she wasn't stopped.
"I know that one day I will have to tell her the truth, and this frightens me. I will never get over the emotional pain."
The woman has no previous convictions. Julian Nutter, defending, told the court that his client appeared to be suffering from Munchausen's syndrome - a rare psychological disorder in which a person fabricates or induces symptoms of illness in themselves.
He added: "This, on any view, is a tragic case - not only for the child concerned and the family, but also for the defendant who, as a result of what she has done, has set a mechanism which will ensure she will never have a normal relationship with the child who she harmed. The background to this is somebody who has done a terrible thing, but someone who is a vulnerable person.
"She appears to be moving toward coming to terms with responsibility for what she has done. This is not an individual who decided upon a course of cruelty intending to cause really serious harm."
The defendant admitted child cruelty and two counts of administering a noxious substance with intent to injure midway through the trial in September last year. She said "love yous all" to members of her family in the public gallery as she was taken into the dock this afternoon, then sat slouched with her head bowed.
She could be heard sobbing and moaning throughout the hearing before being jailed for four years and two months. Sentencing, Judge Denis Watson KC said: "I am satisfied and sure it happened on many different occasions.
"There must have been separate, repeated episodes where salt was introduced into her food. It paints an inescapably clear picture of a helpless 13-month-old infant being put in regular and repeated distress, solely because of your actions in putting excessive quantities of salt into her food.
"That she recovered in the way that she did is thanks to a combination of the diligence of medical staff and her kidneys continuing to work normally. It is no thanks to you.
"Not only did you conceal it, but you repeatedly showed a determination to create opportunities to poison her. Sometimes this was achieved by distracting professionals, sometimes by fake outrage.
"Many people know a different side of you, but until recently were unaware of your offending. You are someone concerned only for yourself.
"You are a highly manipulative individual, skilled in ways of trying to gain sympathy for yourself. You have repeatedly shown you have put your own interests front and centre, above your daughter's.
"You have continued to blame others and are unable to offer any insight into your behaviour. There were prolonged and multiple incidents, and this was serious cruelty."
The woman was also handed an indefinite criminal behaviour order, restricting her contact with children, and a restraining order preventing her from contacting her daughter's father for life.
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