A four-day-old baby who died after being ‘denied adequate food and liquid’ was put in a shoebox before being buried in a shallow grave in a cemetery, a court has been told.

The baby’s parents, Anthony Clark, 35, and Catherine Davies, 25, are on trial accused of his murder at Manchester Crown Court.

They kept the birth and death of the baby a secret from almost everyone, the court heard.

The couple, who relied on Clark’s £280 a month benefits to live on, both deny murder.

The jury was told that Clark has pleaded guilty to concealing a birth, and Ms Davies has pleaded not guilty to the same offence.

(Image: Facebook)

Following his birth in August last year, the baby only left the house once, so that Clark could sign on at the job centre to collect his benefits, the prosecution said.

After this, they went to a Morrison’s supermarket where they bought food and other items for themselves, but nothing for the baby, the jury was told.

“He was, the prosecution say, denied adequate food and liquid, and it’s that that led to his death,” prosecutor Louise Blackwell QC said.

Doctors say the baby, who was only named weeks after his death, passed away four or five days after being born.

Medical reports found the baby was ‘all but full born’, and hadn’t been born prematurely.

A post mortem examination concluded that it was a ‘very strong possibility’ that the baby died due to dehydration, but that the official cause of death is unascertained.

Another expert say they were ‘struck’ by the ‘emaciated appearance’ of the deceased baby.

His body had been wrapped in an orange blanket and put in a shoe box, which was wrapped in sticky tape and covered with a plastic bag.

The pair are accused of digging a hole at Heaton Cemetery in Bolton ‘under cover of darkness’ to bury the child, before filling in the hole.

About a month after the baby’s death, Ms Davies rang her mother who lived in a care home to ask for money.

Following their conversation Ms Davies’s suspicious mother called the police, and they were arrested and interviewed on October 1 last year at their flat, in Thornbank East, Bolton.

The court heard they both initially denied that Ms Davies had given birth, and she said her mother was mentally ill.

But during door to door enquiries, a neighbour told police that both defendants had told him Ms Davies was pregnant.

While searching the house, officers found a number of notes from a diary which Ms Davies admitted she had written.

These included; “I’m thinking pop it in two week. Don’t want hosp. Don’t want head full on. Easier to dispose of of. Less complicated at the end. Less people involved.”

Another note said: “Pregnancy is p****** me right off.”

Ms Davies initially said this related to another baby, but later admitted it was in relation to her child.

Notes were also addressed to Clark, followed by a reference to her baby.

They read: “You make me feel special. While monstrosity makes me fat. You make me feel loved. While I hate the bump.”

The couple were later taken to the cemetery by police officers, and initially struggled to find the burial site but later succeeded.

Ms Davies later admitted in police interview that she had given birth, and said ‘we had no money to feed or clothe him’.

Clark also admitted the birth and said he had tried to give him water.

Proceeding.