Woman, 33, denies killing girl, 11, after ‘using poisonous substance to tackle bed bugs at her home’

A WOMAN has denied killing an 11-year-old girl after allegedly using a poisonous substance to get rid of bed bugs in her home.

The girl suffered a heart attack after Jesmin Akter, 33, used aluminium phosphide to get rid of the vermin, it is said.

The Old Bailey heard Akter scattered pellets of the substance, which is a regulated poison, around her flat in Shadwell, East London.

This was then activated by moisture to create the dangerous gas phosphene that travelled to the upstairs flat of the schoolgirl, it was said.

The girl, who can't be named for legal reasons, died in hospital on December 11, 2021.

Akter had allegedly imported the substance, which is designed for pest control on farmland to protect crops, from Italy without a licence.

It is a regulated substance in the UK but requires a license to possess and use it.

The bedbug problem is said to have been rife in the block of flats.

Akter denied charges of manslaughter and importing a regulated substance.

She was bailed ahead of a provisional trial set to last three weeks on July 3.