Mum guilty of murder of four-year-old son

A mother diagnosed with mental health issues has been found guilty of the murder of her four-year-old son.

Oluwakemi Badare, 37, of Invermore Place, Plumstead, was deemed to be accountable for the death of her son, Kingswealth Bayode, after a trial at the Old Bailey.

The jury had been asked to decide on the facts of the case, as the defendant had been diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was considered unable to understand the charges.

Sentencing will take place on July 20, when a hospital order will be imposed.

Detective Inspector Jason Crinnion of the Met’s Specialist Homicide Crime unit said: “This case is so sad. Young Kingswealth Bayode lost his life at the hands of his mother, who is clearly very ill.

“Any investigation into the death of a child is harrowing for everyone involved, and that certainly includes the investigating team.

“My team have professionally gathered the evidence and presented the facts, so the jury have been able to make an informed decision, but we are all aware of how tragic this case is.”

The court heard how at 7.45am on December 27, 2020, Badare called the London Ambulance Service and told them she had killed her son. She said she had left him in the bath and forgotten about him.

Kingswealth was not clothed, he was wet and the ambulance crew noted that rigor mortis had already begun to set in, meaning he had died some time earlier.

The ambulance crew noted there were also injuries that might be consistent with Kingswealth being forcibly held under the water.

Officers attended the scene and Badare was arrested on suspicion of murder, replying to the officer: “Yes I forgot him in the bath.”

A post-mortem examination was carried out on December 31, and this found water in Kingswealth’s lungs consistent with drowning, but it also recorded a number of minor injuries to the head, neck and shoulders.

As a mobile four-year-old, Kingswealth should have been able to leave the bath, if he had been left on his own, and the circumstances, along with the injuries suggested he had been held under the water.

As a result of the evidence, Badare was charged with murder.

Picture Top: Kingswealth Bayode. Below: Oluwakemi Badare Picture by: Met Police