Mother who killed newborn baby after putting her in cereal box and suitcase for two days jailed for life
28 October 2024, 16:27
A mother who killed her newborn baby girl by placing her in a cereal box and wrapping it in a plastic bag has been sentenced to life in jail.
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Jia Xin Teo, of Raglan Street, Coventry, will serve a minimum prison term of 17 years after being found guilty of murder at Warwick Crown Court on Thursday.
The 22-year-old gave birth to an alive, full-term baby on March 4 before placing her in a cereal box, wrapping the box in a sealable plastic bag and putting it in a suitcase, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
She left her daughter in the suitcase for two days before eventually going to the hospital on March 6 - knowing by that point the baby "would certainly be dead", the court heard.
Police were called to Teo’s home after medics noticed signs that she had given birth despite her denials, West Midlands Police said.
Police feared that she had abandoned her baby and rushed to Raglan Street where officers found the body of the baby girl in a cereal box, the CPS said.
Teo had concealed her pregnancy when she arrived in the UK from Malaysia to study at Coventry University.
Teo said she was “scared” in case her family and friends back home in Malaysia found out.
The student also claimed she had been hearing voices that told her to kill or harm the baby but a judge told the court she "did not accept" Teo's version of events at trial.
In her sentencing remarks at Warwick Crown Court, 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."
She added: "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."
Teo was handed a life sentence and must serve a minimum of 17 years in prison.
James Leslie Francis, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “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 that it would kill her.
“Today, the jury has made the decision to convict her for her actions, and I would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration in this complex and sensitive case.”
