A SEVERELY disabled ten-year-old boy who is alleged to have been given a noxious substance by his mum had a cocktail of unprescribed drugs in his system at the time of his death, a court has heard.

Two expert witnesses have given evidence in the trial of Pembe Mehmetaliogullari, 47, who denies attempting to murder her son Mustafa, known as Musti.

Mehmetaliogullari, of Kerrison Mews, Lower Market Street, Hove, also denies a charge of giving the boy a noxious substance.

Lindsey Ward, a toxicologist, told the court on May 18 that blood and urine samples were taken at various times from the boy between the time he was admitted to the Royal Alexandra Hospital on September 27, 2018, and following his death in the hospital three days later.

The court has previously heard that an ambulance was sent to the defendant’s home at Eastview Terrace, Sedlescombe, on September 27, after she made an emergency 999 call.

The witness said the samples were later analysed, and the results showed traces of Co-codamol and Citalopram in his blood and urine.

She told the court the presence of the latter drug decreased during the boy’s stay in hospital while analysis showed there were traces of Co-codamol.

The court has previously heard that Musti, who had complex health issues, had not been prescribed either drug but that his mother had at various times taken both.

It is the prosecution’s case that Mehmetaliogullari administered the Citalopram to the boy at home and then gave him the Co-codamol while he was in hospital.

Miranda Moore QC, prosecuting, asked the toxicologist if it was correct that it was “relatively recently before death” that Co-codomal could have been given to the boy, to which the witness replied: “Yes. Certainly within three to four hours.”

Under cross-examination by Lewis Power QC, defending, the toxicologist told the court that the analysis showed the boy did not receive Co-codomal between admission to the hospital, at 4.44am on September 27, 2018, and when tests were conducted the following day.

In a statement read to the court by Teresa Hay, prosecuting, Strasbourg-based toxicologist Vincent Cirimele said he received a package containing a section of the boy’s hair on January 10, 2019, for analysis.

In his statement, he stated that there was evidence of “repeated exposure” to Citalopram and the presence of Co-codomal.

The trial, at Brighton Crown Court before Mrs Justice Justine Thornton DBE QC, continues.