Infanticide case: mum breaks down as infant death detailed in Supreme Court

A YOUNG mum who killed her infant daughter was excused from her own trial today as harrowing details of the crime were explained to a court.

Undated : generic pregnant woman wearing a black top holding / cradling her stomach. Pic. ISTOCK

A YOUNG mum who killed her infant daughter was excused from her own trial today as harrowing details of the crime were explained to a court.

The woman — whose identity is protected — broke down as prosecutor Andrew Grant told her Supreme Court plea hearing the infant died minutes after birth and was then dumped in a bag beneath a tree.

The court was adjourned before Mr Grant finished reading a truncated prosecution summary in her absence.

The woman pleaded guilty to infanticide, a rare crime which attracts up to five years in jail, but Justice Jack Rush told her that he was not considering jailing her after being presented with psychological reports about the trauma she was experiencing.

The woman did not know she was pregnant when she gave birth after a difficult labour in her bedroom on February 25 2014.

The panicked teenager then held her hand over the baby girl's mouth before dumping her 4kg body.

More than a week later she reported the death to police.

“Something really bad has happened. Can we talk privately,” the woman said she when went to the police.

The woman now suffers from extreme anxiety and rarely leaves her house.

“The process of having to attend court..... Is in itself punishment for (her),” said public defender Helen Spowart.

The woman was supported in court by family members.

She will be sentenced next Wednesday.