Woman guilty of manslaughter of baby tells court she was regularly beaten and punched by her father

A woman, guilty of the manslaughter of her baby, broke down in tears as bail was revoked by Waterford Circuit Criminal Court Judge Eugene O’Kelly, who chose to reserve his position on sentencing until a later date.

Following a two-week trial in October of last year, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found unanimously guilty of the manslaughter in April, 2018, of her baby daughter at Caredoc on Waterford city’s Cork Road. A majority verdict of guilty was returned for a second charge of child neglect on the same date.

The woman appeared before the Circuit Criminal Court for sentencing on Friday afternoon, with the support of family members, including her father.

During the hearing, senior counsel for the State, Fiona Murphy SC, recounted the evidence of the months leading up to and including the birth, and of the eventual discovery hours later of the body of the newborn infant in a bin covered in bloodstained tissues.

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The young woman had attended Caredoc with her mother and grandmother sometime after 2am complaining of constipation and back pain. Asked to provide a urine sample, she left to go to the toilets. Her mother was in the doctor’s office when the issue of her potential pregnancy was raised. CCTV footage showed that the woman was in the toilets for approximately 12 to 13 minutes before she returned to the doctor’s office without mentioning the birth.

The doctor referred her to University Hospital Waterford, where there was a concern about bleeding. Suspicions were raised and a belief was subsequently formed by medical staff that she had recently given birth. On foot of an account given that she had bled into the toilet at Caredoc, a call was made to Caredoc. At 7.30am gardaí were alerted and the toilet was sealed off. Scenes of crime gardaí arrived at Caredoc at 1pm, and during a search, a bin in the toilet was emptied and the remains of a baby girl were found.

The court heard how over several hours the woman continuously denied having given birth, before admitting to gardaí that the baby was hers after the body was discovered.

Stable relationship

There was evidence that the baby was a full-term child, who breathed after birth. Ultimately, a finding was made that simple management of drying, keeping her warm and feeding her would have kept her alive, said Ms Murphy.

Sgt Michelle Byrne of Waterford Garda station confirmed that the woman, who has no previous convictions, is living in another county and is in a stable relationship.

The father of the baby, who was a casual acquaintance of the woman, declined to make a victim-impact statement. Ms Murphy confirmed that the maximum penalty for manslaughter was seven years and said it was the DPP’s view was that the woman’s denial interfered with efforts to save the child. The woman’s father moved to console his visibly upset daughter as she sat in the dock.

However, he left the courtroom when a letter detailing how she had been living in fear during her childhood was read into evidence by Ciaran O’Loughlin SC, for the defence.

In the letter the woman explained that she grew up in an abusive household. She claimed she was beaten and punched at the hands of her father. After a beating she was blamed for what happened and this made her feel worse. When she got pregnant the father of the baby wasn’t supportive and the woman felt alone. She continued to deny that she was pregnant to anyone who asked and was fearful of her father’s reaction. She claimed that she was in a state of denial but is now living with the consequences. She wished the circumstances were different at the time and deeply regrets what happened.

Mr O’Loughlin described the case as very unusual and tragic . In mitigation, he said his client has sought psychiatric assistance. The woman’s realisation and remorse have grown since the jury returned their verdict last October.

In Mr O’Loughlin’s opinion the Probation Services’ report put the woman at a low risk of reoffending. She attended all appointments, engaged in meaningful discussions with her probation officer and was deemed suitable for supervision, he outlined. According to Mr O’Loughlin the probation officerfelt that a remand on continuing bail for 12 months would be beneficial in allowing her to deal with areas around her mental health and relationships. According to Mr O’Loughlin the psychiatric report indicates that she has developed depressive symptoms, with features of post-traumatic stress since then.

The judge said the woman was very vague in the report when it came to describing what she was thinking when she put the baby in the bin. Furthermore, there was no evidence that she was suffering from features of psychosis during her pregnancy. Mr O’Loughlin responded that there was no suggestion of that, adding it will take time to come to terms with what happened in her life.

The judge had no doubt that it was a sad and complex case that saw an innocent baby die as a result. Before passing sentence, he had to consider a very detailed report from a consultant psychiatrist, an academic report from a lecturer in midwifery at the University of Limerick, who conducted a PhD on concealed pregnancies, a comprehensive Probation Report and a Supreme Court decision on a crime of manslaughter and culpability issues.

The judge noted that the woman asked to be dealt with compassion and kindness. Therefore, the court was faced with a “balancing exercise”.

However, he didn’t agree that it was a matter that could be put off for 12 months. The issues were too complex, he said, to finalise it there and then. He revoked the woman’s bail and remanded her in custody until July 5th.