A student mother who killed her newborn baby girl by putting her in a cereal box and hiding her in a suitcase moments after she gave birth is jailed for life.
Jia Xin Teo, 22, was last week convicted of murdering her baby at her Coventry student flat on March 6.
The murderer was today given a minimum prison term of 17 years by judge Mrs Justice Tipples, who said she was sure the student had planned to kill the baby after giving birth in private.
The court had previously hear that Teo, of Raglan Street, gave birth to a full-term baby on March 4 and moments later placed her in a cereal box, then inside a sealable plastic bag and finally into a suitcase.
By the time police discovered the body two days later, the baby was dead, the Crown Prosecution Service said.
The defendant had denied murdering her baby and said she had been hearing voices which told her to kill or harm the baby.
Passing sentence, the judge said she ‘did not accept’ Teo’s version of events
In her sentencing remarks at Warwick Crown Court on Friday, the judge said: ‘You knew that, by sealing that plastic bag, your baby would certainly die and you thought that, by hiding her body in a cereal packet in your luggage, no one would ever find her body.
‘I am sure that your baby was alive for over four hours before you killed her.
‘I am sure you decided to give birth all on your own as you were determined that no one should know you were pregnant, and no one should know you had had a baby.
‘This was because you had decided that you were going to get rid of your baby as soon as she was born, and then no one would ever know you had had a baby.’
During the trial, the court heard that Teo, from Malaysia, arrived in the UK earlier this year to study at Coventry University and ‘probably knew’ she was pregnant when she arrived but hadn’t told anybody she was expecting – including the father of the baby back home.
Prosecutor David Mason KC told the court: ‘According to the account she gave the police, her baby definitely survived a least a number of minutes and was still moving when she put the little girl into the box and then the bag.’
The jury also heard that the pregnancy was only discovered after friends in her halls of residence forced entry to her bedroom after becoming concerned about Teo and found ‘blood everywhere’.
Mr Mason said that when Teo’s friends entered her bedroom they found blood stains, smears and clots all over the room.
Teo had locked herself in the bathroom but was eventually persuaded to come out.
Paramedics were called but Teo refused to go to hospital and was instead transferred to a room so the blood stains could be cleaned.
Mr Mason said one of her friends had helped to move her belongings, which ‘unbeknown to him’ included the red suitcase containing the baby girl.
Teo eventually agreed to go to hospital and was admitted to an emergency gynaecology unit, where a pregnancy test proved positive.
But the defendant refused a vaginal examination and denied giving birth.
Medics knew otherwise and called police, the jury heard. Officers were sent to both the ward and her halls of residence in Coventry.
Warwick Crown Court heard Teo eventually admitted giving birth and told police where she had hidden the infant.
Mr Mason told jurors that for a defence of infanticide, those representing Teo would have to establish that her mind was or might have been disturbed or not fully recovered from the effect of giving birth.
Two psychiatrists were of the opinion that such a defence was open to her, he added.
But Mr Mason said Teo had ‘deliberately hid her pregnancy from everyone’, lied to the doctors about giving birth and refused a vaginal exam.
He told jurors: ‘You can infer that if it hadn’t been for the heavy blood loss the birth would have remained secret’ and said her disposal of the baby “required significant thought”.’
Speaking after the case, James Leslie Francis, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘Jia Xin Teo hid her pregnancy from everyone she knew and arrived in the UK knowing she was likely to give birth here.
‘She had opportunity to seek help, but instead chose to carry her pregnancy in secret and give birth alone.
‘After she gave birth, she still did not tell anybody and refused to go to hospital to get checked.
‘She lied to friends who cared about her, to doctors at the hospital and to the police so no-one found her baby.
‘She did not tell the police where she hid her baby until two days had passed, by which time the baby would certainly be dead.
‘Baby Teo was alive after birth and could have survived, but Jia Xin Teo made the decision to place her inside a cereal box knowing it would kill her.
‘Today, the jury has made the decision to convict her for her actions and I would like to thank them for their careful consideration in this complex and sensitive case.’