Tuesday 30 October 2012

FILICIDE (multiple): Felicia Boots trial


'I was a good mum': courtroom sorrow of mother who smothered her babies after rejecting anti-depressants

A mother who was suffering from severe post natal depression killed her two babies after stopping her medication because she was worried about its side effects while breast feeding, the Old Bailey heard today.

Mother questioned over the death of her two children
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Jeffrey and Felicia Boots Photo: FACEBOOK
Felicia Boots, 35, suffocated 9-week-old Mason and 14-month-old Lily-Skye just two weeks after the family, who are originally from Canada moved into a new £1.4 million home in south west London.
Her husband Jeffrey, a banker, discovered the bodies of the two children side by side on the floor of a walk-in wardrobe after returning home from work in May.
Today at the Old Bailey, Mrs Boots pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Mrs Boots, a jewellery designer, was dressed in a black suit and white blouse and wept as she was asked to stand to enter pleas on the two charges.
Her voice shook as she replied in a Canadian-accent: "Not guilty to murder, but guilty to manslaughter because of diminished responsibility."
Boots looked down and read from a piece of paper as she was asked to enter a plea to the second murder charge.
Giving the same answer, she wiped away tears with a handkerchief and sat down.
The judge in the case Mr Justice Fulford described her as a loving mother who has been suffering from a depressive disorder and whose judgement "was simply not functioning".
Describing it as a tragic case he said a prison sentence was not appropriate and ordered that she be detained at a secure mental health unit.
Mr Justice Fulford said: "This is an almost indescribably sad case.
"Although the roots of Mrs Boots' actions were profoundly tragic given the lost of two such young lives, what occurred was not as a result of what most people would regard as criminal activity.
"I unreservedly accept that what the defendant did to the two children she and her husband loved and nurtured, was solely the result of psychological and bio-physiological forces that were beyond her control.
"This case is the polar opposite of the appalling incidents of children neglect and cruelty that sometimes come before the courts."
On the morning of the tragedy Mrs Boots had become "fixated and deluded" that her children were going to be taken away, the judge said.
Lily Skye Boots (R) and Jeffrey and Felicia Boots's 10 week old son mason (L)
The court heard how she had suffered post natal depression following the birth of her first child, Lily-Skye in March 2011.
She was prescribed anti-depressants and had begun to feel much better, the court heard.
But when she became pregnant with her son she became concerned about the effects the medication might have on him.
The court heard how Mrs Boots had stopped taking her medication because she was breast feeding and she was "irrationally worried about the consequences for him".
Edward Brown QC, prosecuting said: "There is consistent evidence that Mrs Boots may have stopped taking the medication in the weeks, or days before the day in question, although to a degree she may have hidden this fact from others."
She made an attempt on her own life after killing her children.
Mrs Boots' husband was in court and submitted a statement to the court in support of her.
In a statement read out to the court, Mrs Boots said: "May 9 2012 is a day I will be eternally sorry for it should never have happened and troubles me deeper than anyone will ever know.
"Part of me will always be missing but just know that I am a good person. I was a good mum and I never meant this to happen. I am truly sorry."
Mrs Boots was later detained under the Mental Health Act, 1983, after pleading guilty to two counts of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Mr Justice Fulford made the under section 37 of the act but did not make a restriction order - under sec 41 - which means she could be freed as soon as her condition improves.
The court heard Mr and Mrs Boots married in August 2007 and came to the UK from Canada in 2008.
"The relationship was a good one. There was no problem and it was a happy family, comfortably well off," said Mr Brown.
The couple had recently moved to the address in Wandsworth and some of their belongings was still in packing cases.
Friends of Mrs Boots said she had been left 'mentally crushed' after the failure of a previous relationship in Canada. Her brother committed suicide four years ago.
After the birth of Lily-Skye on March 1 last year, she was diagnosed with moderately severe depression.
Her medication was increased and by the time she fell pregnant with Mason in the late summer she had recovered.
"Reports to her psychiatrist showed she was feeling improved and was feeling happy and positive about the prospect of a second child," said Mr Brown.
"She decided to stop taking her medication. There was some reservation from the doctor but as she was so improved there was no significant concern."
Mrs Boots said was worried about the effect the medication would have on her child both during pregnancy and later when breastfeeding.
She was told the medication was harmless but computer records show she was making a series of Google searches about her concerns in the weeks before the killings.
After Mason was born on February 28 this year friends and family began to become concerned that she was suffering from postnatal depression.
"She told someone the medication might affect the unborn child. She said she stopped taking the medicine without telling anyone," said Mr Brown.
Mrs Boots also confided in her husband in early April that she was feeling unwell.
On April 12 she was prescribed antidepressants for the next 28 days, which would have lasted until May 11.
Examination of the pack revealed the pills for the days leading up to May 9 had been removed but Mr Brown said "the findings might be consistent with Mrs Boots deciding to hide the fact she had not taken medication."
Her parents-in-law visited the house in the days before the killing and noticed that she was finding it increasingly difficult to carry out basic tasks.
On May 9 she was outwardly appearing better and texted a photo of Lily to her husband who was at work.
But when Mr Boots arrived home at 7.25pm he found the house in darkness and his wife sitting on the stairs hugging herself.
She told him not to go upstairs but he ran up to find his two children lying on the floor of a walk-in cupboard.
When police arrived she told them she had stopped taking her anti-depressants two weeks earlier and said repeatedly: "I don't know why I did it."
Boots, who appeared weak and unsteady on her feet, later explained that the killing took place at 2pm.
She had marks on her neck which suggested she had attempted to take her own life.
Her distressed husband made a comment that his wife was a good mother and he could not believe she had done such a thing.
Police found a handwritten note left near the bodies of the children, in which Mrs Boots questioned how she could have done it.
"She stated she was scared and so sorry and wanted to take her own life. She said she had started to fall apart a few weeks before," said Mr Brown.
Reports from three psychiatrists all concluded she was suffering from a depressive illness which diminished her responsibility.
"She knew what she had done but did not understand why she had done it," said one doctor, the court heard.
Mr Brown said: "This plainly is a tragic case. The Crown has closely examined the expert medical evidence and the authors of the reports are clear and agreed in their conclusions as to Mrs Boots' condition as to the 9th of May this year and the reasons for her actions. Therefore it is not in the public interest to pursue the counts of murder."

Monday 22 October 2012

INFANTICIDE: Michelle Smith who poisoned her baby with powerful painkiller out of ‘a craving for attention’ is jailed for 12 years


By DAILY MAIL REPORTER


Horror: Michelle Smith has been found guilty of her murdering her 42-day old baby
Horror: Michelle Smith has been found guilty of her murdering her 42-day old baby
A mother found guilty of poisoning her own baby with a powerful pain killer murdered out of a craving for attention, a judge told her today.
Michelle Smith, was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum 12 years for the murder of six-week-old Amy.
A shellshocked Smith was led away in tears today still protesting 'But I did not do it. I did not do it.'
Moments before, a jury found her unanimously guilty of murdering the defenceless baby at home in Morriston, Swansea, south Wales, in November 2007.
Smith, aged 34, poisoned baby Amy three times before finally managing to kill her.
She crushed tablets of the powerful painkiller dihydrocodeine-prescribed only to adults-and fed it to Amy in her bottle feed.
On the first occasion doctors could not find anything wrong with her and sent her home.
The second time she was rushed to hospital urine tests revealed dihydrocodeine-but the results were not passed on to the doctors and Amy was again released.
But the third time it happened Amy could not be revived and she died aged six weeks.
A post mortem revealed the presence of the drug and it was only then that the earlier urine test results became known.


Judge Mr Justice Spencer briefly adjourned the Swansea Crown Court trial to collect his thoughts before passing sentence.

He left Smith sobbing with the warning that he would be looking at 15 years as a starting point in setting a minimum term.
Passing sentence he told her her actions involved a 'substantial premeditation'.
Out in the open: South Wales Police Detective Sergeant Justin Evans reading a statement outside Swansea Crown Court after Smith was found guilty of murdering her child
Out in the open: South Wales Police Detective Sergeant Justin Evans reading a statement outside Swansea Crown Court after Smith was found guilty of murdering her child
He added: 'The giving of this drug to Amy required, as it must have done, the crushing of tablet or tablets involving a significant degree or planning and premeditation.'
He said Amy was young and vulnerable and that Smith's actions were 'a gross abuse of your position as her mother'.
'In all probability you were in some way craving and seeking attention by presenting Amy to the doctors at hospital.'
The jury heard that as police investigations continued Smith sent her father in law a text message saying she was going to give herself up. She walked into Neath police station and told an officer, 'I did it. I did it. I killed Amy.'
Smith, a mother of three, signed a police officer's notebook confirming what she had said but only five minutes later retracted her 'confession.'
On November 9, 2007, health visitor Gillian Davies had found Amy Louise to be in 'thriving and immaculate' good health.
Scene: Swansea Crown Court, where Smith was found guilty of poisoning and murdering her own daughter
Scene: Swansea Crown Court, where Smith was found guilty of poisoning and murdering her own daughter
But just four hours later Smith's husband Christopher came home from work to find the baby had collapsed.
Doctors could not revive her and she was declared dead from respiratory failure a few hours later.
Mr Justice Spencer said it would never be known why Smith should kill a helpless, vulnerable baby. But it appeared that Smith had been 'craving and seeking' the attention of doctors by presenting her daughter as a sick child.
Smith had not been suffering from post natal depression, he added, and neither had Amy Louise been a difficult baby who had driven her to the end of her tether.
He said it was of profound regret that the results of the urine test carried out on the second occasion that Amy Louise had been taken to hospital had not been passed on to doctors.
'It was a warning sign that was missed,' he added.
The judge said the fact that Smith had poisoned Amy Louise before giving her the fatal dose-using tablets prescribed to her husband-showed premeditation and planning.
The painkillers were so strong, he said, that a single tablet would have been enough to kill a six week old baby.
After her arrest Smith denied administering any medicine to Amy 'not even Calpol.'
Following the verdict Det Sgt Justin Evans said, 'Amy Louise was just six weeks old when she was killed by the one person who should have done more than any other to keep her safe.
'Michelle Smith's actions have left a family without a much loved little girl.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2169842/Mother-poisoned-baby-powerful-painkiller-craving-attention-jailed-12-years.html#ixzz2A48GCXmR
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INFANTICIDE (intended): Rajasthan couple tries to bury new born girl alive


Jaipur, July 3 (IANS) Police are looking for the parents of a new-born girl who was rescued by some villagers in Rajasthan's Dausa district minutes before she was to be buried alive, officials said Tuesday.
According to police, some villagers Monday heard the wailing of a baby coming from a farm land near Todarwas village in Dausa district, some 100 km from Jaipur.
"They reached the spot and saw a couple fleeing from the place. The villagers tried to chase them, but they escaped. Later, the villagers found a girl lying near a newly dug-up pit. The villagers say that the couple was attempting to bury the girl alive. The girl seems to be a day-old," a police officer said.
The villagers informed police. "The girl was admitted to a hospital. She was suffering from fever. However, her condition is now normal," said the officer.
He added that a first information report has been registered against the unidentified couple.
Several incidents of girls being abandoned by their parents have been reported in Rajasthan of late.
An eight-month-old girl was found wrapped in a cloth near a reservation window of the Rajasthan Roadways bus stand in Bundi May 19. Similarly, an infant girl, apparently abandoned by her parents, was found at the doorstep of a children's home in Udaipur May 9.
According to Census 2011, Rajasthan now has 883 girls between the ages of 0-6 for every 1,000 boys. The child sex ratio in 2001 was 909.
Due to alarming number of female foeticide and infanticide cases, the Rajasthan government in May announced it would frame a "girl policy".

FILICIDE (multiple): Lianne Smith sentenced in Spain to 30 years



Lianne Smith has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of her children (Jordi Ribot Punti/ICONNA/PA)
Lianne Smith has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the murder of her children (Jordi Ribot Punti/ICONNA/PA)
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    Tuesday July 03 2012
    A British woman who murdered her young son and daughter in a Spanish hotel room has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
    Lianne Smith, 45, had admitted smothering 11-month-old Daniel and five-year-old Rebecca with a plastic bag at the Miramar Hotel in Lloret de Mar on the Costa Brava in May 2010.
    In a written sentence issued to the media, Judge Adolfo Garcia Morales jailed Smith for 15 years for each of the murders. It comes after a jury at the Provincial Court in Girona, north east Spain, decided last month that Smith, originally from Tyneside, was criminally responsible for the children's deaths.
    At the conclusion of the trial, prosecutor Victor Pillado Quintas asked for Smith to be sentenced to 34 years in prison.
    Her defence sought an acquittal, claiming she was in a state of "psychiatric disturbance" and suffering insurmountable fear when the tragedy happened.
    Judge Garcia Morales said he was imposing the minimum sentence for murder because he considered that, although responsible for her actions, Smith was suffering a degree of "mental disturbance" when she committed the crimes.
    He wrote: "The jury stressed that this mental disturbance was not as important as the defence had argued.
    "This was based on facts such as several suicide attempts made by Smith, a statement she gave during which she appeared normal and did not make any significant mistakes as she described what had happened and how it happened, the composition of several coherent notes, and calculations she made in order to pay what she believed she still owed to the hotel."
    The judge also dismissed the defence's claim that Smith had been suffering "insurmountable fear" when she murdered her children because she feared British social services would take them away from her.
    He wrote: "It would have been consequent with insurmountable fear if she had attacked or even killed the members of English social services who she felt were threatening to take her children away. It is illogical that out of insurmountable fear of losing her children she decided to kill them.

    FILICIDE?: Gloria Dwomoh: Nurse who force-fed her own baby to death is banned from working in hospitals for life


    Nurse who force-fed her own baby to death is banned from working in hospitals for life

    • Gloria Dwomoh, 32, poured liquefied meals down the throat of 10-month-old Diamond, despite being warned the practice was dangerous
    • The infant contracted pneumonia caused by having food repeatedly forced into her lungs
    • Dwomoh was jailed for three years last November after a jury convicted her of causing or allowing Diamond’s death 

    Lifetime ban: Gloria Dwomoh, 32, poured liquefied meals down the throat of 10-month-old Diamond
    Lifetime ban: Gloria Dwomoh, 32, poured liquefied meals down the throat of 10-month-old Diamond
    A hospital nurse who force-fed her baby daughter to death is facing a lifetime ban from the profession today 
    Gloria Dwomoh, 32, poured liquefied meals down the throat of 10-month-old Diamond, despite being warned the practice was dangerous.
    The infant contracted pneumonia caused by having food repeatedly forced into her lungs.
    Dwomoh was jailed for three years last November after a jury convicted her of causing or allowing Diamond’s death following a three-week trial at the Old Bailey.
    The Ghanian national remains a serving prisoner, and is not attending a separate central London hearing at the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
    At the time of Diamond’s death, Dwomoh had been working for St Thomas’ Hospital, Lambeth, and was later sacked after being convicted in the criminal case.
    Nabeel Osman, for the NMC, told a three-member panel Dwomoh deserved to be struck off for her actions.
    ‘Irrespective of this course of conduct occurring in a domestic environment, this is conduct fundamentally incompatible with being a registered nurse,’ he said.
    ‘The fact this related to Ms Dwomoh’s own child is an aggravating feature.
     

    ‘She ignored proper, considered medical advice and opinion, and continued with her feeding methods despite criticism. That proved to be fatal ten months into Diamond’s short life.

    Nurse Gloria Dwomoh and her daughter Diamond. She has been jailed for three years
    Nurse Gloria Dwomoh and her daughter Diamond who died -  the infant contracted pneumonia caused by having food repeatedly forced into her lungs
    ‘It is conduct which doesn’t just fall short of what would have been appropriate in the circumstances, it is in direct contradiction to what would have been expected.
    ‘There can be no other finding other than one of current impairment [to practice as a nurse], especially in light of the level of criminality that this conduct involved.’
    During her original trial, jurors were told Dwomoh fed Diamond from a porcelain jug, a method she insisted was common in her home country.
    Mother-of-three: Gloria Dwomoh, a picture of baby Diamond, circled, and two of her other children - faces obscured to protect their identity
    Mother-of-three: Gloria Dwomoh, a picture of baby Diamond, and two of her other children - faces obscured to protect their identity
    The baby girl died in hospital at 4.40am on March 3, 2010, after her father noticed she was struggling to breathe.
    A post-mortem report revealed tiny pieces of food in her lungs, as well as evidence that she had previously breathed in food and vomit on other occasions.
    It emerged that a string of doctors and social workers had previously warned Dwomoh of the dangers of feeding Diamond using the jug.
    Trial: Dwomoh was jailed for three years last November after a jury convicted her of causing or allowing Diamond¿s death following a three-week trial at the Old Bailey
    Trial: Dwomoh was jailed for three years last November after a jury convicted her of causing or allowing Diamond's death following a three-week trial at the Old Bailey
    She came to the UK on a student visa in 2000 and intended to study fashion. 
    But she qualified as a nurse five years later and has indefinite leave to remain in the country.
    Dwomoh, formerly of Walthamstow, east London, has not made any formal submissions to the panel that will decide her fate.
    If ruled unfit to practice, she could be struck off.
    The hearing continues


    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2221505/Nurse-force-fed-baby-death-banned-working-hospitals-life.html#ixzz2A440JMlV
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    Thursday 18 October 2012


    Oprah Winfrey Show-Mothers Who Kill Their Children 1993.flv

     
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    Published on Oct 11, 2012 by 
    its one of episode of Oprah Show in 1993 which Oprah interviews mothers who kill their children