Mother sentenced for killing son and attempting to murder daughter
A woman has been sentenced to 10 years for infanticide and attempted murder following the 2021 stabbing of her two children. The court considered evidence of postnatal depression and a history of domestic abuse when determining the sentence.
Why it matters
The case highlights the intersection of mental health, domestic abuse, and the legal system, specifically regarding the definition and sentencing of infanticide.
Image source, Pacemaker Image caption, Tributes were left outside the property in 2021
A woman, whose convictions for the murder of her baby son and attempted murder of his toddler sister were quashed, has been sentenced to 10 years for infanticide and attempted murder.
The woman stabbed both children in July 2021 and they were taken to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children.
The girl was successfully treated but the baby boy was pronounced dead.
The woman was convicted and jailed in 2023 for murdering her eight-week-old son and attempting to murder his toddler sister.
In December 2025, senior judges in the Court of Appeal ruled those convictions were unsafe.
In March of this year, the court ordered a retrial.
In August, the woman, whose identity is protected by an anonymity order, pleaded guilty to infanticide and attempted murder.
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