April 1974
The parents of "Belsen baby" Max Piazzani went to jail on Monday (29-4-74). They were sentenced to two years each at Chelmsford Crown Court in Essex. The court had been told of the tragic life – and death – of little Max. Neighbours warned health officials of his plight. But nothing was done until it was too late. When four-year-old Max died of a brain haemorrhage and malnutrition last August, he weighed just over 15-lbs. He was like a skeleton. Judge Peter Greenwood, passing sentence, told Max’s 33-year-old mother Pauline, and his Italian father, Fanesto, a 44-year-old bank interpreter: "I have seen and looked with care at the photographs of your poor little boy. These pictures remind me of some of the photos of concentration camps. That child needed your love, your care and your understanding. You deserve no pity. What pity did you give that child? The maximum sentence is one of two years. I do not think that maximum sentence is one day, one hour, one minute too long." The couple had pleaded guilty to cruelty by neglect.
PICTURED: Mrs. Pauline Piazzani … sentenced to two year.
