Ireland Case No. 29616Manslaughter; child neglect · Co. Waterford
Mother convicted of manslaughter of newborn baby in Waterford
In April 2018, a woman gave birth to a full-term baby girl on a toilet at Caredoc on Cork Road, Waterford, and placed the infant in a bin, where the body was discovered the same afternoon. The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested in August 2018 and charged with manslaughter and child neglect. At trial at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court in October 2021, a jury found her unanimously guilty of manslaughter and guilty by majority of child neglect. Sentencing is set for 11 January 2022.
- Reportednot reported
- Arrestednot reported
- Chargednot reported
- In court12 Oct
4 reports - Convicted15 Oct
2 reports - Sentenced
reportedhappened, not reportedlatest stagenot yet
Key facts
consolidated from all reports- What happened
- A woman gave birth to a full-term baby girl on a toilet at Caredoc on Cork Road, Waterford, in April 2018, and placed the infant in a bin where the body was found the same afternoon.
- Where
- The incident took place at Caredoc on Cork Road, Waterford city.
- When
- The incident occurred in April 2018.
- Cause
- The postmortem attributed the baby's death to inattention at birth, with no evidence of a blow or water inhalation.
- Investigation
- Gardaí were notified at 7.30am and the baby's body was discovered in a bin at 1.25pm on the day of the incident.
- The woman was arrested and detained at Waterford Garda station in August 2018 for interview.
- Charges
- The woman was charged with manslaughter and child neglect and pleaded not guilty at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court.
- In court
- The trial at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court lasted two weeks in October 2021.
- A jury of eight men and four women found the woman unanimously guilty of manslaughter and guilty by majority of child neglect on 15 October 2021.
- Sentence
- Sentencing is set for 11 January 2022.
- Other details
- The woman admitted to gardaí that she tampered with two earlier pregnancy tests by diluting them with water and apple juice, and disguised her pregnancy with a waist trimmer and baggy clothes.
85 statements extracted from the articles
- whatThe woman presented at University Hospital Waterford with symptoms of having completed a full-term pregnancy but there was no sign of the baby. (rte.ie)
- whatThe woman had earlier presented at the Caredoc offices in severe pain. (rte.ie)
- whatDr Adel Abdulrazak asked the woman for a urine sample and when she came back from the toilets her pain was gone. (rte.ie)
- whatThe woman presented at Caredoc with her mother and grandmother in the early hours of the morning. (rte.ie)
- whatGarda Aidan Slattery said he was upset and shocked when the baby was later discovered. (rte.ie)
- whatDr Sean McBrinn of Waterford Medical Centre confirmed the baby was dead shortly after 1.30pm. (rte.ie)
- whatPractice Nurse Ruth Flynn gave evidence of two consultations where two pregnancy tests returned negative results. (rte.ie)
- whatOn the first occasion the defendant and her mother attended and the mother expressed concern that her daughter was pregnant. (rte.ie)
- whatThe defendant declined a blood test. (rte.ie)
- whatSome days later the defendant returned on her own and a repeated pregnancy test was also negative. (rte.ie)
- whatThe baby was discovered in a bin at an out-of-hours medical service in Waterford. (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe complained of constipation and back pain. (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe was asked to provide a urine sample and left to go to the toilets. (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe was in the toilets for approximately 12 to 13 minutes but did not provide a urine sample on her return. (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe was referred to University Hospital Waterford and the three women presented there at 3am. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThere was a concern about bleeding and a belief that the young woman had recently given birth. (irishtimes.com)
- whatGarda Alan Magner received a call that a female had presented to the maternity department with symptoms of a full-term pregnancy but no sign of the baby. (irishtimes.com)
- whatA substantial amount of blood staining on surfaces and tissues was found in the bathroom. (irishtimes.com)
- whatGarda Aidan Slattery discovered the body of a baby girl in the second bin. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe infant appeared to be full-term. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe woman admitted to gardaí that she gave birth while sitting on the toilet at a medical centre. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe woman admitted tampering with pregnancy tests by diluting the first with water and using apple juice and water for the second. (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe disguised her physical appearance by wearing a waist trimmer and baggy clothes. (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe said she had no intention of telling the father or her parents about the pregnancy. (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe described a gush like a waterfall into the toilet and saw little feet when she looked through her legs. (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe tore the umbilical cord with two pieces of tissue. (irishtimes.com)
- whatShe put the baby in the bin. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe woman held the infant in her arms for around 10 minutes before placing her in a bin in a medical centre. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe baby was born and dropped into the toilet while still attached to the mother. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe woman held the baby in her left hand, saw her face, and determined the sex of the baby. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe prosecution argued that placing the baby in a bin, walking away and not mentioning it was the substantial cause of death. (rte.ie)
- whatCCTV showed the accused was in the toilet for 13 minutes, during which she gave birth and the baby was placed in a bin. (rte.ie)
- whatThe baby had been in the bin for 30 minutes by the time the accused and her mother arrived at University Hospital Waterford. (rte.ie)
- whatThe woman denied the birth and maintained she was 25 weeks pregnant. (rte.ie)
- whatThe woman's mother had been making serious efforts to encourage her to engage with medical professionals, but she failed or refused. (rte.ie)
- whatThe accused was in the toilet at Caredoc for 13 minutes, during which she gave birth and placed the baby in a metal bin with bloody tissues over it. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe baby was in the bin for 30 minutes by the time the accused and her mother arrived at University Hospital Waterford. (irishtimes.com)
- whatThe accused denied the birth and claimed she was 25 weeks pregnant. (irishtimes.com)
- whatGardaí discovered the body of the full-term baby at 1.25pm when the bin was emptied. (irishtimes.com)
- whatDr Adel Abdulrazak referred the accused to University Hospital Waterford. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe alleged incident took place at the Caredoc building on Cork Road in Waterford city. (rte.ie)
- whereThe incident occurred at Caredoc on the Cork Road, Waterford city, in 2018. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe incident occurred at Caredoc on the Cork Road in Waterford. (irishtimes.com)
- whereThe baby's body was found at a Caredoc on-call doctor's service on the Cork Road in Waterford city in April 2018. (rte.ie)
- whereThe infant died at Caredoc on Cork Road in 2018. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe alleged incident happened in 2018. (rte.ie)
- whenThe woman attended Caredoc with her mother and grandmother sometime after 2am. (irishtimes.com)
- whenGardaí were tasked to University Hospital Waterford shortly after 9.15am on the date in question. (irishtimes.com)
- whenThe incident occurred in 2018. (irishtimes.com)
- causeThere was no evidence of a blow being struck or of water inhalation. (rte.ie)
- causeThe postmortem showed the cause of death as inattention at birth. (irishtimes.com)
- causeThe former deputy state pathologist said the baby's death was attributable to inattention at birth. (rte.ie)
- causeThe placing of the baby in the bin, walking away and not mentioning it was the substantial cause of the baby's death. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGarda Aidan Slattery was on duty as a dispatcher in the divisional communications room when he received the call. (rte.ie)
- investigationA postmortem was carried out by Deputy State Pathologist Dr Michael Curtis. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationMedical professionals in the maternity ward said a woman presented with signs of having given birth but there was no newborn. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationAt the time of the gardaí's visit, the baby had not been recovered. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe woman was arrested and detained at Waterford Garda station in August 2018 for interview by Inspector Donal Donohoe and Det Garda Siobhan Keating. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationGardaí were notified at 7.30am and sealed off the bathroom and searched the drains. (rte.ie)
- investigationThe body of the full-term baby girl was found in the bin at 1.25pm. (rte.ie)
- investigationGardaí were notified at 7.30am and sealed off the bloodstained bathroom and searched the drains. (irishtimes.com)
- investigationThe accused was arrested the following August. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeThe woman pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter and child neglect. (rte.ie)
- chargeShe also denied a charge of child neglect on the same date. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeShe was charged with manslaughter of her newborn baby in 2018 at Caredoc on the Cork Road in Waterford. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeShe also faced a charge of child neglect on the same date. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeThe woman pleaded not guilty to a charge of manslaughter. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeThe woman also denied a charge of child neglect. (irishtimes.com)
- chargeThe prosecution's case was one of gross negligence manslaughter. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is taking place at Waterford Circuit Court. (rte.ie)
- courtThe woman pleaded not guilty to manslaughter at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is ongoing. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial is being held at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial continues on Thursday. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe case is to continue on Friday. (irishtimes.com)
- courtA woman was found guilty of manslaughter and neglect of her newborn baby girl at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court. (rte.ie)
- courtA jury of eight men and four women took three-and-a-half hours to deliver a unanimous verdict on manslaughter and a majority verdict on child neglect. (rte.ie)
- courtSentencing is set for 11 January. (rte.ie)
- courtThe jury at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court consisted of eight men and four women. (irishtimes.com)
- courtIt took the jury three and a half hours to deliver the verdict. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe woman was unanimously found guilty of manslaughter. (irishtimes.com)
- courtA majority verdict of guilty was returned for the child neglect charge. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe case returns for sentencing on 11 January 2022. (irishtimes.com)
- courtThe trial lasted two weeks. (irishtimes.com)
- otherDr Catherine Conlon, Assistant Professor of Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin, explained the premise of a concealed pregnancy. (irishtimes.com)
The reporting
newest first- 15 Oct2021Woman who left her newborn baby in a bin found guilty of manslaughter
Reports the guilty verdict delivered at Waterford Circuit Criminal Court; sentencing set for 11 January 2022.
victim, femaleconvicted, female - 15 Oct2021Mother guilty of manslaughter of newborn baby girl
Reports the guilty verdict on manslaughter (unanimous) and child neglect (majority) delivered by a 12-person jury, and sets the sentencing date for 11 January.
convicted, femalevictim, newborn, female - 14 Oct2021Woman charged with manslaughter of baby ‘held infant before placing her in a bin’
Trial details including the defendant's account of holding the baby for 10 minutes before placing her in a bin, the postmortem finding of 'inattention at birth', the father's evidence, and expert testimony on concealed pregnancy. The case is to continue.
accused, femalevictim, female - 13 Oct2021Woman gave birth on toilet at Waterford medical centre, trial hears
Trial day reporting: the accused gave evidence about giving birth on the toilet at Caredoc, tampering with pregnancy tests, and placing the baby in a bin. Cross-examination by Ciaran O'Loughlin SC established the baby had not been recovered. Trial continues.
victimaccused, female - 12 Oct2021Body of baby found in bin at Waterford medical centre, court hears
Trial evidence describes how the baby was discovered in a bin at Caredoc after the mother attended with her mother and grandmother, was referred to University Hospital Waterford, and the absence of the newborn was noted. Gardaí found blood staining in the bathroom and the baby's body in a second bin. The trial is ongoing.
accused, femalevictim, female - 12 Oct2021Court hears baby's body found at on-call doctor service
Trial evidence heard at Waterford Circuit Court: the baby's body was found at Caredoc after the woman's pain vanished post-toilet; two earlier negative pregnancy tests; pathologist attributed death to inattention at birth with no evidence of a blow or water inhalation.
victim, femaleaccused, female