WOMAN JAILED FOR LIFE FOR MURDERING HER BABY SON
From 2018.A woman convicted of killing her infant son after hearing voices claiming she was a bad mother has received a life sentence.
Hannah Turtle, aged 22 from Shotton in Flintshire, suffocated her seven-week-old son, James Hughes, in June 2016.
Prior to her death, she had stopped his breathing on two separate occasions, both times bringing him back to life in hospital.
During her trial at Mold Crown Court, Turtle changed her plea to guilty, and she was sentenced to serve a minimum of 14 years and nine months in prison.
In addition to her murder conviction, she admitted to five charges of child cruelty, including poisoning James by putting her anti-depressant medication into his milk twice.
The presiding judge, Mr Justice Clive Lewis, noted that Turtle suffered from a personality disorder, which lessened her criminal responsibility, and questioned whether she intended to kill her son.
He emphasized that James was a defenseless baby who deserved his mother's protection, but instead was suffocated.
In a court-read victim impact statement, James’s grandmother, Kathleen Hughes, described Turtle as "pure evil" and expressed that she did not deserve forgiveness.
Evidence during the trial revealed that Turtle had stopped James's breathing on three occasions within a ten-day span, including during times when she was left alone with him at the hospital.
On 9 June 2016, she suffocated him once more; this time, the baby did not recover and died four days later due to brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation.
Turtle recounted to the court how James initially fought back when she covered his face but then became floppy and white.
A social worker testified that Turtle had smiled while confessing to smothering her sleeping baby in the cot.
Although she initially denied harming James, police re-interviewed her after she disclosed that she had killed him.
She expressed remorse, wishing she had not acted, and claimed she needed help.
Turtle stated that voices in her head labeled her a bad mother, and she revealed a history of childhood abuse, depression, and mental health issues.
While no definitive mental illness diagnosis was made, authorities assessed her as possibly experiencing post-natal depression in the days prior to James's death.
Post-sentencing, James’s family issued a statement describing their ongoing suffering and referring to James as their "little angel." Mental health charity Mind Cymru highlighted that such cases are extremely rare, asserting that most people with mental health problems are not dangerous.
Their director, Sara Moseley, pointed out that most homicides in England and Wales are committed by individuals without mental health diagnoses.
Catrin Attwell from the Crown Prosecution Service confirmed Turtle had deliberately given her antidepressants to her son twice.
She had ensured no witnesses were present each time and remained silent as medical professionals investigated James’s health issues.
North Wales Police announced that a child protection review by a regional safeguarding board into James's death was ongoing.
