Northampton teen mother guilty of infanticide

NORTHAMPTON TEEN MOTHER GUILTY OF INFANTICIDE

A teenage mother, Andrea Harrigan, aged 19, from Birchfield Crescent in Northampton, has been found guilty of infanticide after killing her newborn son Eithan.

The court heard that in April of the previous year, Harrigan stuffed rolled-up leaves into her baby's mouth and left his body under a lawnmower in a garden.

Although she denied murder, psychiatrists accepted her guilty plea to infanticide.

The judge, Charles Wide QC, sentenced her to a community order with supervision lasting 36 months, and she is required to undergo mental health treatment for two years.

The court was told that Harrigan had kept her pregnancy secret from her mother, and during the morning of April 22, her mother discovered suspicious substances on the floor in the kitchen.

Harrigan then admitted that the baby was under the lawnmower.

The post-mortem revealed that two rolled-up leaves, one in the baby’s mouth and another in his pharynx, caused his asphyxiation.

The court noted that the baby was born alive, as oxygen was still present in his lungs at the time of death, and that Harrigan was clearly suffering mental distress at the time.

A formal verdict of not guilty was recorded for murder.

Harrigan has no recollection of putting leaves in her baby's mouth and is said to be extremely confused and distressed about what happened.