WARNING: Distressing content
A Sydney mum who allegedly murdered her four-month-old baby in a bathtub was found sitting in the bathroom with the infant in the tub after drowning him.
The mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to murder during a hearing in the NSW Supreme Court on Monday.
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The court heard both parties had agreed the defence of mental health impairment had been made out.
Defence barrister Richard Pontello SC told the court the woman was suffering a disturbance of emotion, judgement and mood at the time and was driven by her “highly distorted thought processes”.
The baby boy died shortly after being found in the tub in his southwest Sydney home on May 20, 2021.
His father – the woman’s husband – made the discovery after coming home from picking up the couple’s older child from daycare, according to a statement of agreed facts tendered to the court on Monday.
The family had only lived in that home for five days before the alleged murder.
On the day of his death, the couple took the baby boy to the doctors for his immunisations.
Later that day, the woman’s husband went to pick up the couple’s older child from daycare, leaving the mother and the baby at home.
Upon arriving home, he found his wife sitting on the edge of the bath.
He asked where the baby was and she replied: “I’m sorry”.
He then entered the bathroom and saw the four-month-old lying in the bathtub on his back, with a towel covering his face.
The husband picked up the baby and realised he was not breathing. She then told him that she had drowned the child.
The husband then carried the boy to the main bedroom and called emergency services and performed CPR until paramedics arrives.
The baby was taken to hospital, but was unable to be revived.
At the scene, the mother appeared “quiet, calm, still and not instigating any communication”, a paramedic noted, the court documents state.
Tragic details revealed
In interviews with police, the mother admitted to killing her son.
When asked why, she said: “Cause I need to go away… cause I need to escape my life”.
The baby’s cause of death was later determined to be unascertained.
“However, the circumstances surrounding the death suggest that drowning may have been the cause of death and could not be excluded,” the court documents state.
The boy’s mother was arrested and charged in September that year after being admitted to a mental health facility as an involuntary patient in late May.
In the months leading up to the alleged murder, the mother told at least two people she thought she had post-natal depression.
She spoke to doctors and psychologists and expressed she felt depressed, tired, sleep-deprived and that her and her husband had financial issues which meant she had to return to work.
She was prescribed antidepressants, which she took for two to three days before ceasing because she did not like taking tablets, she later told a nurse.
In the weeks before the child’s death, she expressed she had “troubling thoughts” and a doctor noted she had suicidal ideation.
She also made online searches about taking her own life.
On one occasion, she told her brother, “I’m afraid to be alone with the kids”, the documents state.
She also said to him: “I don’t want to live, I don’t want to be a mum, I want to end it all”.
Several people had also noted that the mother did not appear to be herself in the weeks leading up to the alleged murder.
Justice Button will hand down his judgement later this week.
If you need help in a crisis, call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For further information about depression contact beyondblue on 1300224636 or talk to your GP, local health professional or someone you trust.