An evil mum has been jailed for poisoning her one-year-old daughter by putting a powerful painkiller in her breast milk – and trying to blame the toddler’s dad.
Sick Rose Jones, 30, admitted repeatedly putting high doses of tramadol into the tot’s milk, before lying and attempting to frame her innocent ex-partner.
The drug addict was sentenced at Plymouth Crown Court today for actions as “worse than violence.”
Jones poisoned the baby so she could get more BENEFITS the court heard – as she was jailed for seven years two months.
The mum burst into tears as she was led down handcuffed from the dock. The judge told her that she would have to serve at least half of her sentence.
Prosecutors say they may never know the reason behind Jones’ crimes – and Judge Ian Lawrie QC said it goes far beyond normal child cruelty cases.
He said: “What we have here is not violence in its traditional sense, but it many ways it is perhaps worse.
“It is the administration of poison over a length of time; there is an element of persistence and almost calculation about this.”
Plymouth Crown Court was told Jones, who had eight children, the youngest aged one and two at the time of the offences, was addicted to Tramadol.
Prosecutor Jo Martin said the toddler was hospitalised several times after suffering fits, but doctors could not figure out what was wrong.
She said: “The staff had woken to the possibility that she had taken some drugs and they wondered whether this was a case of induced fabricated illness by means of poisoning.
“What was absolutely clear was Tramadol was being given to her during that time she was being admitted in and out of hospital.”
The child tested positive for Tramadol, Jones was arrested and police seized two milk bottles containing significant doses of the drug.
Ms Martin said there were no metabolites in the milk, meaning the drug could not have come from breastfeeding.
When she was first interviewed by police, Jones denied the claim that she had poisoned her own daughter, saying it was “sickening” and “upsetting”.
All five of her children were taken into care and Jones began an attempt to cover her tracks.
She showed police text messages apparently proving her former partner, Shane Cruickshank, was responsible for the poisoning.
She said he threatened to blow up her house; poured petrol through her letterbox and set it alight; and sent someone to stab her in the stomach.
Mr Cruickshank was arrested and hair samples taken from the younger girl showed Tramadol had been in her system for at least six months.
He was later exonerated.
Jones was re-arrested but maintained her innocence until last month when, preparing for her trial, she finally admitted child cruelty and perverting the course of justice.
Evidence emerged that Jones’ two-year-old daughter also had Tramadol in her system and that she started the fire herself, but she denied these points and the charges will lie on file.
Ms Martin said: “It’s hugely disappointing that Rose Jones continues to tell what appear to be lies in order to fit the evidence.
“(The second girl) will never know what happened to her as a child.”
Ms Martin added: “It is so hard to know why Rose Jones did this.
“One inference is she was doing it because of her addiction, that she could not help herself.
“Another inference is she was deliberately poisoning her child to seek sympathy and finance from the authorities.”
Jones’ defence team gave mitigation before her sentence was handed down and she was remanded in custody.
Rose Jones’ former partner, Shane Cruickshank, says her false allegations have left him “scarred for life”.
Jones perverted the course of justice by accusing Mr Cruickshank of poisoning their young daughter and telling police he threatened to blow up her house.
The couple’s children were taken into care by social services before Mr Cruickshank was exonerated.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mr Cruickshank told how his life has changed since he was placed under suspicion.
Prosecutor Jo Martin said: “He describes the loss of his children, the fact he now only has supervised contact, and how stressful it has been having to live apart from them.
“There will always be an element of ‘no smoke without fire’.”
In the statement, Mr Cruickshank said: “She has ripped my life apart and caused me no end of stress.
“Words can’t describe the pain Rose has caused me, I feel I will be scarred for life because of her.”
