A woman has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the infanticide of her infant son and the attempted murder of his toddler sister, following the quashing of her original convictions. In July 2021, the woman stabbed both children, who were then taken to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children. While the girl received treatment, the baby boy was pronounced dead.
Initially convicted and jailed in 2023 for murder and attempted murder, senior judges in the Court of Appeal ruled these convictions unsafe in December 2025. A retrial was ordered in March of this year, and in August, the woman, who is protected by an anonymity order, pleaded guilty to infanticide and attempted murder.
Infanticide is legally defined as the unlawful killing of a child under 12 months by its biological mother when the "balance of the mother's mind was disturbed." On Tuesday, Mr. Justice Fowler cited expert medical reports indicating the woman was experiencing postnatal depression at the time of the stabbings. The court also heard that her relationship with the children's father was marked by domestic abuse, sexual abuse, and coercive control, leading her to fear for her and her children's lives.
Diary entries suggest the woman felt overwhelmed by feelings of rejection, abandonment, and emotional despair, believing she had no alternative but to end her children's lives and her own. The surviving daughter has experienced a "catastrophic impact," suffering "abandonment, rejection and loss" during a critical developmental period. Now in foster care, the girl is described as happy and settled but remains hypervigilant and sensitive to environmental changes.
Medical reports indicated the woman was suffering from mild to moderate depression, which impacted her judgment. She had expressed remorse to police in the immediate aftermath, admitting to crying too much and acknowledging her actions might indicate depression. The judge noted her admissions, her status as a victim of modern-day slavery, and the isolated nature of the incident, while also emphasizing the serious breach of trust and high level of harm.
The sentence includes 10 years, with half to be served on license. Due to time already served, she is expected to be released to begin her five-year license period. Conditions of her release include no contact with individuals under 18 and mandatory attendance at necessary medical appointments.
