Girl, four, who died after her mother 'sedated her with "blue smarties" so she could have undisturbed sex with a boyfriend' had heroin in her system EIGHT MONTHS before her death, court hears 

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A four-year-old girl who died after being given drugs so her mother could have sex with her boyfriend had 'repeat exposure' to illegal substances throughout her short life, a court has heard.

Experts found broken-down heroin EDDP in Poppy Widdison's hair follicle - proving the drug had digested into her system.  

The four-year-old was found lifeless on a sofa in June 2013.

Michala Pyke, 37, (left) is alleged to have given drugs to her daughter so she could have sex with her boyfriend without being disturbed. Poppy Widdison, four, (right) died in June 2013

Today toxicology expert Dr Vincenet Crimele told Hull Crown Court that one of the child's eight-month-old hair samples had traces of heroin, ketamine and codeine in it - indicating that she was repeatedly exposed to drugs.

He said: 'She was exposed to heroin from the entire length with the rate of growth of hair.' 

Poppy's mother Michala Pyke, 37, and her drug dealer boyfriend John Rytting, 40, deny serious child cruelty charges of physical abuse and plying the youngster with drugs - but have admitted neglecting the child by subjecting Poppy to an unsafe environment.  

The court heard that Pyke texted her drug dealer partner John Rytting, 40, (pictured) with a message about giving the youngster diazepam: ‘She can have a blue smartie and go to sleep lol xxx' 

Pyke also pleaded guilty to a separate charge of causing her daughter emotional abuse. 

The jury had heard yesterday that Pyke had texted Rytting saying: ‘she can have a blue smartie [diazepam] and go to sleep lol xxx’.

Jurors have been told that Poppy was viewed as an ‘inconvenience’ by the couple.

Dr Crimele said he was unable to confirm how the drug had been administered to the little girl.

He told the court: 'This breakdown of EDDP would be concerned with digesting the drug.

'We cannot, however, be sure whether it was picked up from surfaces and carpets or how it could be digested.'

Prosecutor David Gordon told the court that the defendants 'were both drug users and therefore the child Poppy lived in an environment where drugs were present'.

He added to the doctor: 'Am I right in the suggestion that these adults may have given the child drugs to make her go to sleep?'

The doctor answered: 'Yes, absolutely.'

The doctor also agreed that the post mortem tests were inconclusive.

He said that a 27cm sample of Poppy's hair revealed a trace of morphine and Codeine and exposure to six chemicals - which signifies exposure to heroin.

Dr Crimele said: 'The concentration levels were very high which suggests she was exposed to heroin.'

Police found more than 1,000 tablets of controlled drugs scattered around in blister packs at his squalid flat in Grimsby, the jury heard.

Pyke and Rytting, who are no longer together, deny two charges of child cruelty. Both have admitted a single charge of cruelty against Poppy by assaulting, ill-treating or neglecting her by exposing her to controlled drugs

Paramedics discovered Poppy was turning blue and not breathing when called to Rytting’s home after she was found lifeless on the sofa in June 2013.

She died the next day at Sheffield Children’s Hospital when her life support machine was switched off. An investigation failed to establish the cause of her death. 

Prosecutor David Gordon told the jury at Hull Crown Court that the defendants were not charged with murder or manslaughter as there was no evidence to blame them for her death and that experts disagreed about its cause.

But he said there was clear evidence of the girl being plied with illicit substances to keep her quiet.

He added: ‘We the prosecution say they wanted to get on with their love life and they regarded her as an incumbent.’

He said the pair deliberately fed the girl drugs, and evidence from Pyke’s mobile phone backed this up. References were made to ‘blue smarties’, a name for the class C drug diazepam.

A week before Poppy died Pyke sent the message to Rytting: ‘Got a bottle of wine if u wanna share. Text back before I leave in half an hour. She can have a blue Smartie and go sleep lol! XXX.’

Rytting replied: ‘U ok.’

Pyke responded: ‘Get them blue smarties ready – the one she likes! Lol XX’ The jury was told the reference to the ‘one she likes’ suggests a repeated course of conduct over a period of time rather than a one-off incident.

Mr Gordon said: ‘She [Pyke] regarded her own child as a nuisance and interfering with the enjoyment in her own relationship with Mr Rytting.’

Pyke and Rytting, who are no longer together, deny two charges of child cruelty.

Both have admitted a single charge of cruelty against Poppy by assaulting, ill-treating or neglecting her by exposing her to controlled drugs.

Rytting has admitted two drugs offences but has denied a third drugs supply charge. Pyke has denied two drug supply charges. The trial continues. 

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