A mother who left a chilling note before killing her two-year-old son to prevent him from having more contact with his father has been jailed.
Carol Hodgson, 40, used a plastic bag to smother her son Daniel Hodgson Green at her home in Upper Garth Gardens, Guisborough, North Yorkshire, then attempted suicide.
Alistair MacDonald QC, the prosecutor, said the notes she left for her mother and other family members indicated that she planned the murder.
Her mother found a note that read, “Mom, I’m sorry. You don’t want to see this, just call the police! I’m gone, I’m so sorry. I love you.’
Carol Hodgson, 40, used a plastic bag to smother her son Daniel Hodgson Green at her home in Upper Garth Gardens, Guisborough, North Yorkshire, then attempted suicide
Hodgson was found with two wounds to her neck and a bloody kitchen knife was found nearby. Other notes were found where she said the only way she could protect Daniel was to “take him away.”
The boy’s heartbroken father, Stefan Green, read a victim statement in Teesside Crown Court before his former partner was sentenced, expressing how much he wanted to be a part of his son’s life, but that Hodgson had cut all contact when Daniel was still a baby.
Mr Green had attended the same courthouses on February 2 this year, expecting a fact-finding inquiry in the family court against the background of the dispute, to learn that his son had been murdered.
In his touching statement, Mr Green told the judge, “I wish I could say more about Daniel’s personality, but we didn’t know him until as a baby before Carol disappeared with him and cut off all contact.
The boy’s heartbroken father, Stefan Green, read a victim statement at Teesside Crown Court before his former partner was sentenced, expressing how much he wanted to be a part of his son’s life, but that Hodgson had cut all contact when Daniel (photo) a baby
Her mother found a note that read, “Mom, I’m sorry. You don’t want to see this, just call the police! I’m gone, I’m so sorry. I love you’
“He was my whole world, the day he was born I really knew what love was, I knew what it felt like to have a higher purpose, to do everything in my power to give him the best life give, a life full of love and happiness .’
He added: “He was taken before he could know who he was, what he wanted to do with his life and how much he meant to so many people.”
Emergency services arrived at Hodgson’s home and found her mother performing CPR on her in her bedroom. A paramedic then saw Daniel lying lifeless next to his mother.
Desperate attempts were made to rescue him on the spot and in hospital, but were in vain.
Hodgson had lacerated her own neck and asked to be left to die, but she was taken to hospital and survived.
Alistair MacDonald QC, the prosecutor, said the notes she left for her mother and other family members indicated that she planned the murder.
He said Mr Green had been out of contact since early 2020 when Hodgson moved but did not give him her new address.
Mr Green asked for more access to his son and to prevent her from changing his last name, moving or taking him on vacation without informing him.
Mr MacDonald said, “It is no accident that she committed the murder on the morning the Family Court was due to conduct a fact-finding inquiry.”
Richard Wright QC, on the defensive, said it was accepted by others that Hodgson loved her son and had shown genuine remorse.
He added: “The only explanation was that she had developed a very irrational and objectively unjustified but genuine belief that she was forced to act the way she did.”
The heartbroken Mr Green spoke outside Teesside Crown Court today to say of Daniel: ‘He was my whole world, the day he was born I really knew what love was, I knew what it felt like to have a higher purpose , to do everything within my power to give him the best life, a life full of love and happiness’
Judge Paul Watson, QC, sentenced her to life in prison with a minimum term of 18 years and four months, saying the crime was aggravated by Daniel’s vulnerability, breach of trust and premeditation, but mitigated by her guilty plea to murder. .
He said, ‘It was not an act of mercy.
“It was a horrible and truly horrible crime.
“The fact that you sincerely intended to take your own life, which I take to be truth, does not mitigate against taking Daniel’s.”
Daniel’s father also attended the sentencing court and read an emotional victim statement. He said, ‘He was my whole world. I called him my little star. I miss hearing him laugh and holding him in my arms.
“The shocking nature of the loss has made everything worse. I now suffer from PTSD and nightmares. I haven’t been able to work and have been sick since it all happened. My mom and dad are broken to the bone. Even family friends have been hit hard.
“Some days I find myself thinking it might be easier if I wasn’t here anymore. I never got to see his first steps or hear his first words, all that has been stolen from me.’
Outside the court, Mr Green said: “We were never able to connect with my son, never saw his first steps, never heard his first words, and now because of the actions of a bad person, a person who is one of the two people he should have felt most safe with has lost a lifetime of firsts.”
Detective Inspector Matt Hollingsworth, Senior Investigating Officer for the Cleveland Police Homicide and Major Inquiry Team said: “Today our thoughts are with Daniel’s father Stefan and his parents – Daniel’s grandparents – and all their family and friends.
“Stefan has spoken touchingly about his love for his son and rightly feels deprived of the opportunity to share his life with Daniel.
“He showed dignity during this ordeal, and today his only thought was to speak for Daniel.
Stefan has paid tribute to Daniel’s tragically short life – taken so cruelly by the mother who should have taken care of him and protected him. It’s hard to believe that Carol picked the date well in advance and lied to the family to give herself some time. Daniel woke up normally that day and went through his normal routine, not knowing that very soon his mother would kill him in such a way.
Hodgson pleaded guilty to Daniel’s murder, but she couldn’t take responsibility for admitting to the police how she took his life. Daniel’s family has had to listen to these details in court.
“I would like, along with Stefan, to thank the paramedics and police officers on site who have worked so hard to help Daniel. This investigation has taken its toll on the entire team and I would like to thank them for their continued drive and professionalism to achieve today’s result.
“We hope today’s verdict to bring justice to Daniel will enable those who love this little boy to begin their grieving process.”