Mentally ill mother admits killing her newborn baby with cling film after trying to hide her pregnancy
- Ineta Dzinguviene, 38, pleaded guilty to one charge of culpable homicide
A woman has admitted to killing her newborn baby with cling film after she tried to hide her pregnancy from her husband.
Ineta Dzinguviene, 38, pleaded guilty to one charge of culpable homicide of her hours-old baby, Paulius Dzingus, after multiple psychiatrists found her to be of diminished responsibility at the time of the child's death due to her mental state.
She had previously been found guilty of murdering the baby in 2011 and was sentenced to serve at least 15 years in prison but the conviction was overturned on appeal.
Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC told judge Lady Poole at the High Court in Edinburgh that some amount of 'discount' to the sentence would be appropriate.
Lady Poole deferred sentencing to June 20 following court social work reports being obtained, while Dzinguviene was remanded in custody.
Ineta Dzinguviene (pictured), 38, admitted to killing her newborn baby with cling film after she tried to hide her pregnancy from her husband
Dzinguviene was seven months pregnant with Paulius in February 2010 when she arrived in Scotland to join her husband, who had taken up work as a lorry driver.
But the High Court heard from a narrative, read by the prosecutor, that Dzinguviene attempted to conceal the pregnancy and had 'emphatically denied' she was pregnant.
Paulius was born in April 2010 and nobody outside of the hospital had seen the baby alive. It was killed that same month.
He was found wrapped in a Tesco carrier bag in a suitcase behind a roll of carpet in a communal cupboard of the block of flats Dzinguviene lived in with her family in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire.
Dzinguviene had previously killed another baby, Paulina, in Lithuania, in 2009.
She was extradited to Lithuania in 2012 after tradesmen found the remains of baby Paulina in an attic of the home where she lived.
Her case was sent back to the High Court after significant new evidence about her mental state when she committed the crimes in 2009 and 2010 was uncovered by psychiatrists.
While serving her sentence at HMP Cornton Vale, Dzinguviene was assessed by several mental health professionals who subsequently found she had both post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) resulting from an abusive childhood and marriage.
Dzinguviene pleaded guilty to one charge of culpable homicide of her hours-old baby, Paulius Dzingus, at the High Court in Edinburgh (pictured)
Psychiatrists assessing Dzinguviene found she could have dissociative episodes as a result of the PTSD and CPTSD as well as being 'in denial' about her pregnancies.
The court heard she had a 'deprived' childhood and her marriage was also abusive.
Dzinguviene concealed her pregnancies and ultimately killed two of her five children because she did not want them to experience the same life that she had, the court heard.
Delayed disclosures are 'understandable' as an avoidance technique to avoid reliving traumatic events, Mr Prentice told the court.
In summing up, Lady Poole said: 'You killed your baby boy. I accept you had diminished responsibility, but nevertheless, this is a very serious and tragic crime.'
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