'Pathetic' teen mum jailed for killing newborn son within hour of birth

A teen mum from Herefordshire who killed her newborn baby and put his body in a bin bag has been jailed for a minimum term of 12 years.

Paris Mayo, 19, had also put cotton wool balls in the baby’s mouth, who died within hours of his birth at the family home in Ross-on-Wye in 2019.

She cried in the dock after jurors at Worcester Crown Court took eight hours and 38 minutes of deliberation to find her guilty of her son Stanley Mayo's murder on Friday.

In court on Monday, judge Mr Justice Garnham said the case was sad and tragic where Mayo decided she didn't want Stanley to live, despite her actions being out of character. She struck him on his head and later wanted to 'finish' killing him by putting cotton wool balls down his throat.

The Judge added that the 19-year-old was 'pathetic' - knowing options such as abortion were available to her.

The court had previously heard Mayo was 15 when she gave birth to Stanley alone and without help in a living room at her parents' home in Springfield Road, on March 23 2019.

She assaulted Stanley, leaving him with a fractured skull, and stuffed five cotton wool balls into his mouth before putting his body in a bin bag, leaving it on the front doorstep and going to bed.

Mayo's mother found the child the next morning when she looked inside the bloodstained bag and immediately called 999, the court was told.

The teenager had earlier denied causing Stanley's complex skull fractures, thought to have been caused by her foot on his head, claiming her son had the umbilical cord round his neck, hit his head on the floor during labour and was already dead when he was born.

When Mayo and Stanley were taken to Hereford County Hospital, the teenager was asked why she had not told her mother what had happened.

She is said to have replied: "She's got a lot going on with dad."

The jury previously heard Mayo's father, Patrick Mayo, had serious health problems, was having home dialysis in an upstairs room assisted by Mayo's mother on the night of the birth, and had died 10 days after the events unfolded.

Mayo, of Ruardean in Gloucestershire, will only be released if the parole board deems it suitable.

After Friday’s verdict, the Crown Prosecution Service said Stanley's "short life was filled with pain and suffering when he should have been nurtured and loved".

In a statement, a spokesperson added: "The prosecution built a case based on medical evidence which proved that Paris Mayo's actions were deliberate, she chose to hide her pregnancy, give birth alone and kill her baby, then hide his body despite accepting that she had a family who would have supported her.

"I would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration of this difficult case."

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