Mother jailed for throwing baby down rubbish chute Published duration 20 June 2013

image caption Jaymin Abdulrahman was suffering from post-natal psychosis at the time

A mother has been jailed for two and a half years for throwing her newborn daughter down a rubbish chute.

The baby girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, suffered skull fractures after falling more than 40ft (12m) at a Wolverhampton block of flats in 2012.

Jaymin Abdulrahman, 25, was found not guilty of attempted murder of the six-day-old girl but was convicted of inflicting grievous bodily harm.

She was sentenced to 30 months in prison at Birmingham Crown Court.

Abdulrahman was cleared of a separate charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The baby suffered skull fractures and brain injuries when she fell into a bin store at the block of flats in September.

'Lost control'

Judge Kate Thirlwall said she accepted Abdulrahman's actions were not premeditated and she was suffering from post-natal psychosis at the time.

In sentencing the Iraqi national, she said: "You will have to live with the consequences of your actions for the rest of your life.

"As you said yourself, you were her mother. You should have been her guardian."

Jailing Abdulrahman, Mrs Thirlwall said: "You have expressed your remorse and I accept it is genuine."

Giving evidence, Abdulrahman said she had put her baby into the chute but said she had not planned it and had "lost control of her thoughts".

Speaking through a Kurdish interpreter, she told the court she was in tears while cleaning her bathroom shortly before placing the baby in the chute.

She said: "I went to the living room, I put the baby in a rubbish bag and I threw her away.

"After I had done so, I just couldn't believe what I had just done, and I couldn't understand why I did it."

'Intolerable cruelty'

Following the verdict, prosecutor Andrew Smith QC told the court there was a high risk of the baby experiencing learning difficulties in the future due to the brain injuries she sustained.

He said the child was developing signs of a severe form of cerebral palsy.

Speaking after the sentencing, Det Insp John Smith, who led the investigation for West Midlands Police, said: "This was a tragic case of intolerable cruelty to investigate and there is no satisfaction or pleasure in today's outcome as a child suffered terrible injuries that will affect her for the rest of her life.