A British couple, accused of force-feeding salt to a three-year-old boy they planned to adopt, were jailed for five years today for killing him.
Ian and Angela Gay, aged 37 and 38, were found guilty of the manslaughter of Christian Blewitt who died as a result of having excessive amounts of salt in his blood and suffering a head injury.
The husband and wife, who denied the charges, were cleared of murder by a jury at Worcester Crown Court.
Prosecutors said the childless couple, from Halesowen in central England, had poisoned the toddler with salt when he was disobedient, and that the raised sodium level in his blood had caused his brain to swell.
Detective Stephen Cullen, West Mercia police
Just over a month into his placement with the Gays, he was admitted to hospital and police were contacted when it became clear his injuries were not accidental. He died four days after being admitted to hospital.
Police said the jury had ruled out a head injury as a cause of death and had found the couple guilty of the basis of the salt overdose.
"The combination of head injuries and salt poisoning is extremely rare and experts will say either one of those could have caused Christian's death," Detective Stephen Cullen of West Mercia police told reporters after the trial.
"It's difficult to conceive how a little boy would voluntarily eat several teaspoons of salt and this has been backed up by experts who say a child would naturally reject even a small quantity."
The highly paid couple had planned to adopt Christian along with his younger brother and sister at the end of 2002, and media reports said they had bought a £500,000 pound house to accommodate their new family.
Sky TV quoted the trial judge as saying the Gays were "intelligent and level-headed people who must have deliberately made a decision in cold blood to punish" Christian.
Sandwell Council, whose social services department had placed Christian with the Gays, said his siblings had now been successfully adopted elsewhere together.