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YOUNG MUM'S GRIEF

Glasgow teen Courtney Leonard, 18, ‘pressed self-destruct button when baby taken away’ before flat death

The teen's foster mum Fran McCaughey, 49, made the heartbreaking revelation as she has paid tribute to her 'wee baby'

A TEEN mum found dead in Glasgow hit the "self-destruct button" when her baby girl was taken away from her.

Emergency services raced to a flat on Ardencraig Road, Castlemilk, after the alarm was raised at around 3.45am on Monday morning, but Courtney Leonard couldn't be saved.

 Courtney Leonard was found dead on Monday
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Courtney Leonard was found dead on Monday

Her foster mum Fran McCaughey, 49, today said she has been left "shattered" by the 18-year-old's death.

Fran and husband Fred, 52 took on the role of Courtney's parents and became her official kinship carers when she was just six years old, alongside her brother, now 14.


Diabetic Glasgow mum, 19, laid dead for TWO DAYS next to ‘hungry and dirty baby boy’ with lifesaving Lucozade and insulin in arm’s reach


The mum of three said: "I’m absolutely devastated. I just feel in limbo.

"She was my baby, she always has been. People even commented how much she looked like me.

 The teen mum died in Glasgow
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The teen mum died in Glasgow

“We were so close to Courtney. My years with her were the best times of my life."

But Fran admitted Courtney had a difficult childhood.

She said: "She was always in and out of trouble, she kept us busy.

"Then she lost her granny and mum to drink and drugs just three weeks apart in 2017.

 Her death is not being treated as suspicious
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Her death is not being treated as suspicious

"But when she fell pregnant she really tried to turn her life around."

Courtney gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last August, but the tot was taken into care after she was caught with drugs.

Devastated Fran admitted: "She went downhill when her baby was taken from her.

"I don’t blame anyone for her death, it was all Courtney. She pressed the self-destruct button."

The teen's death is not being treated as suspicious.

Speaking to the Scottish Sun Online, Fran recalled the moment cops arrived at her Gorbals home to break the horror news of Courtney's passing.

Fran said: “They came to my door at 5.30am on Monday morning. I didn’t think anything of it at first though.

"I just expected Courtney to bounce out from behind them. It wouldn’t have been the first time they’d brought her home.

“But then the officer said I should wake my husband and take a seat, and I knew there was something wrong."

 Courtney 'went into self-destruct mode' after her baby was taken into care
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Courtney 'went into self-destruct mode' after her baby was taken into care

We told earlier how tributes flooded in for the "best girl" as her heartbroken friends struggled to come to terms with her death this week.

Lauren Kemp said: "Rest in peace Courtney. Shine on you beautiful soul."

Meanwhile, Stuart Ferguson wrote: "Canny believe am writing this RIP Courtney may u shine bright and sleep tight."

A police spokeswoman said: "The body of an 18-year-old woman was found in a property on Ardencraig Road, Castlemilk, at 3.45am on Monday, March 18.

"A post mortem will take place in due course to establish the exact cause of death, however police are not treating the death as suspicious.

"A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal."

Teen mum Courtney Newlands lay dead in Glasgow flat for two days with dehydrated five-month-old baby beside her


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