Sentence delayed again for parents involved in tragic death of Hucknall baby

Hunter White was pronounced dead by paramedics at Kingsway Gardens on July 10, 2020, and his parents admitted cruelty to a person under the age of 16.

His dad, Adam White, 45, of Foxhill Road East, Carlton, pleaded guilty last September. Hunter’s mum, Terri Walters, 32, of Kingsway Gardens, Hucknall, changed her plea to guilty in March.

The pair were due to be sentenced on Friday afternoon, after the case was adjourned in April, but Judge Gregory Dickinson QC had to postpone it again, saying it was ‘unfair to everyone involved’ and ‘an additional hardship for the defendants.’

He said there were discrepancies in the Crown’s case against the defendants and it lacked important details. Prosecutor Ayanna White told the judge she took on the case at short notice after the original barrister was stuck in a different case in Leicester.

Judge Dickinson said. "There have been at least five advocates for the prosecution. It is immensely serious and sensitive.”

Nottingham Crown Court previously heard that Hunter died due to a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain because he could not breathe or move, which is known as ‘positional asphyxia’.

Judge Dickinson said that Adam White "fell asleep under the influence of something" and left Hunter facedown. He said: "The mother was in the house, also taking drugs. She went to bed, leaving the baby with the father when it was not safe to do."

The court heard that both parents ‘have longstanding drug problems.’