Lancashire Police charge woman with murder of baby

By Matthew Calderbank
Published 5th Jul 2023, 09:31 BST
Updated 5th Jul 2023, 09:31 BST
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Detectives investigating the death of a baby have charged a woman with his murder.

Police were called around 1.20pm on March 1 last year to a home in the village of Hapton, near Burnley, following reports a baby boy had suffered a medical episode.

Emergency services attended and the child, aged nine-and-a-half months, was taken to hospital for treatment, however he sadly died on March 5.

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In March, a 60-year-old woman from Haslingden and a 78-year-old man from Burnley were arrested on suspicion of Section 18 Assault and were later arrested on suspicion of murder after further enquiries.

Police were called around 1.20pm on March 1 last year to a home in the village of Hapton, near Burnley, following reports a baby boy had suffered a medical episode. Emergency services attended and the child, aged nine-and-a-half months, was taken to hospital for treatment, however he sadly died on March 5.Police were called around 1.20pm on March 1 last year to a home in the village of Hapton, near Burnley, following reports a baby boy had suffered a medical episode. Emergency services attended and the child, aged nine-and-a-half months, was taken to hospital for treatment, however he sadly died on March 5.
Police were called around 1.20pm on March 1 last year to a home in the village of Hapton, near Burnley, following reports a baby boy had suffered a medical episode. Emergency services attended and the child, aged nine-and-a-half months, was taken to hospital for treatment, however he sadly died on March 5.

The 78-year-old man has now been released without charge but Lancashire Police charged the woman with the baby’s murder yesterday (Tuesday, July 4).

Karen Foster, 61, of no fixed address, will appear before Blackburn Magistrates’ Court this morning (Wednesday, July 5)

Foster is also charged with a separate Section 47 assault (assault causing actual bodily harm) on another child – a one-year-old girl in Hapton on March 22, 2019.

Lancashire Police said Foster is not related to either of the two victims and the two children are not related to one another.