A mother has been jailed for leaving her toddler son alone in a stuffy room for two days while a heater fan was pointed towards his bed, causing him to die in agony of severe dehydration.

Jessica S., aged 30, from the town of Grevenbroich in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, was found guilty of killing her two-year-old son, Leon, on 14th April 2019.

According to the indictment, the mother, who also has a daughter, fed little Leon before putting him to bed, and only checked him two days later. During the trial, a psychiatric expert later classified the 30-year-old mother as only partially responsible because she was suffering from severe depression and cancer.

The little boy was left uncared for in the stuffy, overheated room with a fan heater pointed towards his bed.

After almost 48 hours, the mother found the two-year-old’s lifeless body and immediately called the emergency services. However, the tot was pronounced dead at the scene.

Forensic analysis revealed that the child died in agony due to severe dehydration caused by the intense heat in the room.

She was first sentenced to seven and a half years in prison for negligent manslaughter in August 2020.

However, the Federal Court of Justice, the highest court of civil and criminal jurisdiction in Germany, overturned the decision, as it was unclear if the defendant knew about the consequences of leaving her son unattended in the room.

During the latest hearing, prosecutors demanded a prison sentence of seven and a half years while her defence called for a sentence of two years and one month.

Jessica S., who remained silent during the hearing, was sentenced to six and a half years in prison by the city of Monchengladbach’s District Court on Monday, 21st March.

It is unclear who will care for the defendant’s young daughter.