British couple convicted of manslaughter after son's death in Tenerife

A couple from Edinburgh have been convicted of manslaughter in the death of their son on holiday in Tenerife in 2007.

Corinna Reid, 37, and her former partner, Robert Cormack, 42, were both convicted of the manslaughter of their 16-month-old son Aiden by a jury at the Provincial Law Court in the Tenerife capital of Santa Cruz.

Aiden died on 12 January, 2007, at the Paraiso Floral hotel in the resort of Adeje in Tenerife.

His death was originally blamed on bronchitis, but tests showed traces of drugs in his system.

The couple were arrested and extradited in 2009. The jury this week found that they gave Aiden methadone and Diazepam, or Valium, deliberately.

They were originally accused of homicide and faced a 14-year jail sentence, but the jury found the couple were not aware of the lethal mix of Aiden's bronchitis, and the drugs, reports the Daily Mail.

After being extradited, Cormack, a recovering heroin addict, said that his son might have drunk some of his orange juice laced with the substitute drug, methadone.

But the jury dismissed the idea it was an accident, and determined the couple had given him drugs consciously.

According to the Scottish Sun, before the verdict on Tuesday, Reid said: "I know I didn't give anything to Aiden but only me and God know that.

"When Robert told me it was an accident, I know he's telling me the truth. He cared about the same things as me.

"He cared about diet, nutrition and education and he would never have knowingly killed Aiden.

"What I'm saying is the truth. You have to believe me."

She added that the accusation she'd killed her son was the "most painful thing imaginable".

According to the Daily Record, Cormack told the court: "The police suggested we wanted to subdue Aiden with the drugs so we could drink alcohol.

""One of the first things a hotel rep told me and Corinna when we arrived was that if we wanted to go for a drink, there was a babysitting service in the hotel.

"The truth is we wouldn't have considered using this service because every minute we spent with Aiden was an absolute joy.

"Corinna and I have lost everything. To suggest we intentionally harmed our child is ridiculous."

State prosecutor Jaime Serrano asked the judge to jail the couple for two and a half years.

Their defence team asked him to consider a maximum of six months, taking into account the time they had already spent in custody.

They have been released on bail and sentencing will take place next month.

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