MOTHER WHO STRANGLED HER TODDLER AND DROVE TO POLICE STATION
The brother of a County Durham woman who killed her son told an inquest he never thought she would harm the toddler.Melanie Ruddell, 40, strangled her toddler Christy at her brother's home in West Rainton in August 2010.
She carried the body of two-and-a-half-year-old into Peterlee police station.
At an inquest at Sunderland Civic Centre, her brother Neil Close told coroner Derek Winter "she loved that little boy".
Mr Close said he had been concerned about Mrs Ruddell's mental health over that weekend.
She was taken to the University Hospital of Hartlepool but left before psychiatric assessment could take place.
She explained she was desperate to see her son rather than wait to see a specialist.
The agitated mother did agree to leave her home in Castle Eden, County Durham, and stay with her brother.
In the early hours, she killed Christy, then drove to Peterlee police station where she stunned staff behind the counter by walking in with his body.
She is receiving treatment in a secure hospital after admitting manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
