A drug-dealing mother whose baby son died after ingesting a “party” narcotic has been jailed for seven years.
Amy Beck, 32, was convicted of exposing three-month-old Ollie-James Sievwright to mephedrone, also known as M-CAT, and MDMA, commonly known as ecstasy, at her house in Sandhaven, Aberdeenshire.
A court earlier heard how the property was “polluted” by drugs.
Ollie-James died in December 2019 as a result of ingesting “party drug” M-CAT, combined with the effects of a peritonitis infection.
Judge Fiona Tait told Beck that, as a drug dealer and user, she allowed illicit substances to be in close proximity to children.
The judge accepted that Beck did not intend to harm her son.
But she added: “Accordingly, because of the gravity of the charges, individually and in accumulation, a custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal in your case.”
Beck, now of Fraserburgh, was last month found guilty of exposing Ollie-James to M-CAT and MDMA following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen.
Read more from Sky News:
Powerful zombie drug ‘hits UK market’
Did this photo ‘kill’ your favourite trainers?
Escaped racehorse joins commuters at station
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Jurors heard evidence that the drug may have compromised her baby’s ability to deal with the implications of contracting peritonitis.
Beck was also convicted of being concerned in the supply of Class B drug mephedrone over a three-year period, as well as further charges of exposing children to controlled drugs in a manner “likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to their health”.
She was sentenced on Wednesday at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Judge Tait said it was apparent from a background report that Beck minimised her role in the offending and had a “limited understanding of the negative impact of drug use and supply within communities”.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Beck was said to have no previous convictions but was deemed to be at a “medium risk” of general offending.
Defence counsel David Moggach said it had been an “unusual case and a difficult case to deal with”.
He added: “She is not without her own problems.”
Judge Tait noted Beck had experienced a “significant level of trauma and adversity” in her life, and added: “You report having made considerable changes to your life.”
