A teenage mother has been found guilty of murdering her newborn son by fracturing his skull and stuffing balls of cotton wool down his throat before putting his body in a black bin bag.
Paris Mayo, 19, cried in the dock after jurors at Worcester Crown Court took eight hours and 38 minutes of deliberation to find her guilty of her son Stanley Mayo’s murder.
The court had previously heard Mayo was 15 when she gave birth to Stanley alone and unaided in a living room at her parents’ home in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, on March 23 2019.
She assaulted Stanley, leaving him with a fractured skull, and stuffed five cotton wool balls into his mouth before putting his body in a bin bag, leaving it on the front doorstep and going to bed.
Mayo’s mother found the child the next morning when she looked inside the bloodstained bag and immediately called 999, the court was told.
The teenager had earlier denied causing Stanley’s complex skull fractures, thought to have been caused by her foot on his head, claiming her son had the umbilical cord round his neck, hit his head on the floor during labour and was already dead when he was born.
However, jurors were told Stanley is thought to have lived for a little over two hours after his birth.
When Mayo and Stanley were taken to Hereford County Hospital, the teenager was asked why she had not told her mother what had happened.
She is said to have replied: “She’s got a lot going on with dad.”
The jury previously heard Mayo’s father, Patrick Mayo, had serious health problems, was having home dialysis in an upstairs room assisted by Mayo’s mother on the night of the birth, and had died 10 days after the events unfolded.
Mayo appeared in court on Friday wearing a black T-shirt, a black-and-white patterned skirt and white Converse trainers.
The jury of five men and seven women was thanked by judge Mr Justice Garnham, who told the jurors it had been a “difficult and stressful case” for them to deal with.
Following the verdict, Mayo, of Ruardean in Gloucestershire, was remanded into custody to be sentenced on Monday.
The death of a newborn baby is utterly heartbreaking, even more so when the person who is responsible is the baby’s own mother— Detective Inspector Julie Taylor, West Mercia Police
West Mercia Police senior investigating officer for the case, Detective Inspector Julie Taylor, said: “Paris Mayo, who was 15 years old at the time, claimed Stanley was born cold, did not make any noise and hit his head on the floor when he was born.
“She did not alert anyone to the birth of Stanley, or the fact he had died. She claimed she did not know she was pregnant at the time.
“Today, following a six-week trial at Worcester Crown Court a jury found Mayo was in fact responsible for his death; and attempted to conceal her pregnancy from those who could’ve, and would’ve, supported her.
“The death of a newborn baby is utterly heartbreaking, even more so when the person who is responsible is the baby’s own mother.
“This has been a devastating case for the investigative team to deal with and I would like to thank those involved for their outstanding efforts to ensure justice has been done today.”
The Crown Prosecution Service said Stanley’s “short life was filled with pain and suffering when he should have been nurtured and loved”.
In a statement, a spokesperson added: “The prosecution built a case based on medical evidence which proved that Paris Mayo’s actions were deliberate, she chose to hide her pregnancy, give birth alone and kill her baby, then hide his body despite accepting that she had a family who would have supported her.
“I would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration of this difficult case.”
