Mother killed baby after leaving Christmas party in psychiatric hospital – court

A “gentle and caring” mother killed her baby as she walked him in a stroller after they left the psychiatric hospital where she had been receiving treatment, a court heard.

Hayley MacFarlane, 39, suffered from postnatal depression which developed into psychosis and was deeply worried that she was failing as a mother to Evelyn, a daughter she and her husband loved and longed for, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Prosecutor Craig Hassall KC said MacFarlane killed her five-month-old baby in a Leeds park on December 20 after leaving a Christmas party at the facility where she was an inpatient receiving psychiatric treatment.

Her husband was at the family home in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, wrapping presents and preparing the tree, expecting his wife and baby to join him later in the day.

Evelyn was born healthy in July and doctors were not initially concerned, but the young mother became increasingly worried about her well-being, Hassall said.

She sought help for her mental health problems and was prescribed antidepressants, but was worried about the effects taking the medication might have on the baby, the court heard.

A month before she killed Evelyn, MacFarlane placed her in the kitchen sink and submerged her under water before she came to and realized what she had done, according to the prosecution.

In response to this incident, which she was unable to explain to her husband, she voluntarily entered psychiatric treatment in West Yorkshire, the court heard.

She was later transferred to a specialist mother and child psychiatric unit at Leeds General Infirmary, where she responded well to treatment over time.

After taking anti-psychotic medication, she relaxed and her condition continued to improve, Hassall said.

On the day she was scheduled to kill her baby, MacFarlane was examined by a trainee clinical psychologist and found the patient to be making progress and doing well, the jury heard.

The mother took the baby to the ward’s Christmas party and afterwards MacFarlane took Evelyn for a walk in the pram – which she was allowed to do – in the late afternoon and she seemed to be in good spirits, the court was told.

She texted her husband expressing her love for the life they had built together with their baby. Shortly afterward, she called him and told him he had to pull over and “Evelyn was gone,” the jury heard.

In the dock, MacFarlane burst into sobs as Mr Hassall described how the mother then dialled 999 and told the carer how she had killed her daughter and that they were in Hyde Park.

Mr Hassall said that in his police interviews, MacFarlane never attempted to deny responsibility for the baby’s killing.

Psychiatric experts agreed that MacFarlane would not have killed her baby if she had not been suffering from psychosis, the court said.

There was a hypothesis that she killed Evelyn because she felt she would never be able to do her justice as a mother.

When discussing the defendants’ culpability, given their mental health at the time, Mr Hassall said of the offence: “The harm could not be greater and it is difficult to imagine that the culpability could be less.”

Defence lawyer Louise Blackwell KC provided 28 references from people who knew MacFarlane, who had herself worked in mental health care. The references said she was a “gentle, caring person”.

Ms Blackwell said a letter from MacFarlane to the judge showed that she was a perfectionist and that she now had insight into “what went wrong”.

The prosecution accepted MacFarlane’s guilty plea to the unusual charge of infanticide (as opposed to murder).

Judge Lambert said she would announce the verdict on Wednesday.