Mentally ill mother drowned son, 4, in bathtub after he begged: ‘Mom, please don’t kill me’

Kingswealth Bayode had implored, “Mom, please don’t kill me” just before his death when his mentally ill mother Oluwakemi Badare, 37, was blamed for the boy’s murder

A critically ill mother has been blamed for the murder of her four-year-old son after she drowned him in the bath when he begged her not to end his life.

Little Kingswealth Bayode shouted “Mum, don’t kill me” just before he died at the flat in Plumstead, south-east London.

Paranoid schizophrenic Oluwakemi Badare, 37, told police her son pleaded for his life before holding him under the water. MyLondon reports.

Horrified, paramedics found the boy naked in the hallway and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

His death came three years after his mentally ill mother told a nurse in 2017 that she held her baby under water for a minute.

Badare had denied murder but was deemed unfit to plead or stand trial on murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Instead, the jury was asked to consider whether she committed the alleged acts, either by intentionally drowning Kingswealth or that he died accidentally.

After a trial at the Old Bailey, the jury found her responsible for his murder. The jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for almost nine hours and found that the defendant deliberately killed her son.

Judge Richard Marks QC adjourned sentencing in the case until July 20.

At the trial, Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said: “On 27 December 2020, London Ambulance Services were called to her address in Plumstead by this defendant.

“She told 911 that she killed her son and drowned him. She also said that she left him in the bath and forgot about it.

“The paramedics were there. When they came they found Kingswealth’s body at the top of the bathroom steps. His body was wet. The bathroom floor was wet. His death was the result of drowning.

“There was no natural illness that could have caused him to drown, but there were a number of scratches, bruises and skin defects on his head, neck and torso consistent with fingernail pressure and focal pressure on his head.

“This suggests that Kingswealth was kept submerged and intentionally drowned.”

Paramedics had been alerted to the incident at 7.45am after Badare contacted emergency services and told the caller that she had killed her son. She also told them she “wants to do a bubble bath” and had forgotten about it, saying she filled the tub with cold water.

The four-year-old was found naked at the top of the stairs and no attempts were made to resuscitate him as rigor mortis had set in. Officials found the bathroom to be empty, although there were traces of blisters and feces and the bathroom floor was wet.

Badare was visibly “quite upset” and slapped his arms, telling paramedics the bath took place at midnight. When police got there, they found her sitting “quietly” by the Christmas tree, but it was later discovered that she was “restless” and put her head in her hands.

She was arrested for the murder at 8.27am, to which she replied: “Yes, I forgot it in the bath” before collapsing. While initially suitable for an interview, she later became unpredictable in her jail cell, telling officers, “My son told me, Mom, don’t kill me.”

A post-mortem found evidence of water inhalation in his lungs, as well as a “number of linear abrasions or scratches, bruises, and skin defects on his head, neck, and torso.” These were consistent and similar in appearance to fingernail tips.

The jury was told: “While the pathologist has to be cautious to express an opinion, she believes that these injuries were not inconsistent with the grabbing of the head.

She concluded that the injuries and clues indicated the death was the result of a drowning facilitated by a third party – Kingswealth had been drowned by someone, and not an accident.

The Old Bailey had also heard that Kingswealth had been removed from her custody in 2017 after she confessed to holding him underwater.

At the time of the incident, she was delusional and believed she was being monitored. This drowning attempt had been recorded by the youth welfare office and he only returned to their care in March 2018.

After her arrest for his 2020 murder, she told a nurse that she had previously attempted to kill her son.

Mr Atkinson had said: “Prosecutors understand it is probably no coincidence that the defendant should attempt to drown her son in 2017 when she is unwell and again in 2020 when she is unwell again felt he should drown accidentally rather than by their deed.”

He told the jury it was their job to determine if she committed the crime she is accused of — intentionally or accidentally drowning her son.

Badare had not accepted that her son was dead and was deemed unable to rely on medical and psychiatric reports.

The mother was unable to stand trial on murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter by gross negligence.

Instead, the jury was asked to consider whether she committed the alleged acts, either that she intentionally drowned Kingswealth or that he died accidentally.

The jury at the Old Bailey deliberated for almost nine hours and found that the defendant deliberately killed her son.

Judge Richard Marks QC adjourned sentencing in the case until July 20.

Detective Inspector Jason Crinnion of the Met’s Specialist Crime (Homicide) said: “This case is so sad that 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 investigative team.

“My team professionally gathered the evidence and presented the facts, allowing the jury to make an informed decision, but we all recognize the tragedy of this case.” Sentencing will take place on July 20, when a hospital order will be issued .