Mother charged with girl's murder

A mother appeared in court today charged with the murder of her four-year-old daughter.

Chantelle Blake, 31, was arrested on Thursday when the body of the child, named locally as Kaiya, was found at their home in Manchester.

The alarm was raised by the city's Royal Infirmary when Blake attended the hospital that evening and "expressed concerns" about the child, Greater Manchester Police said.

Nursing staff contacted police who forced entry to Blake's house in Garthorne Close, Moss Side, and discovered Kaiya's body.

It is thought the little girl was suffocated but a post mortem examination failed to establish a cause of death and more tests are planned.

Detectives charged Blake with murder earlier today and she appeared before Manchester City Magistrates' Court.

During the two-minute hearing the mother, who was wearing a blue tracksuit and had a bandage around her right wrist, spoke only to confirm her name and date of birth.

Two police officers followed the proceedings from the public gallery. No application for bail was made and bench chairman John Roberts remanded Blake in custody to appear at Manchester Crown Court on Monday.

It emerged yesterday that there has been previous contact between the family and police and other agencies. PA