Mother denies murdering five-year-old son at home

A woman has denied murdering her five-year-old son at their home.

Lincoln Button was found unresponsive at the property in South Ockendon, Essex, 10 days before Christmas.

His 35-year-old mother, Claire Button, of Windstar Drive in the town, entered the not guilty plea at Basildon Crown Court on Wednesday.

The judge said a trial would begin on 29 September.

Lincoln was a Year 1 pupil at Bonnygate Primary School, which, in a statement, described him as a "cheeky, smiley, happy boy".

Jamie Warren, whose cousin Nicky is Lincoln's father, previously told the BBC Lincoln was autistic and non-verbal.

A brief hearing at Essex Coroner's Court in January heard Lincoln's cause of death was "undetermined pending further investigations".

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