Paris Mayo: Teenager sentenced over murdering newborn son and putting body in bin bag
Warning: Readers may find the details in this article upsetting
A teenage mother has been sentenced for murdering her newborn son by stuffing balls of cotton wool down his throat before putting his body in a black bin bag.
Paris Mayo, who is now 19 but was 15 at the time of the incident, went on trial accused of killing Stanley Mayo before putting him in a bin bag at her parents' home in Springfield Avenue, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, on March 23 2019.
She is alleged to have concealed both her pregnancy and her delivery of the baby, alone and unaided, claiming she was unaware she was carrying.
She assaulted Stanley and stuffed cotton wool balls down his throat before putting his body in a bin bag and leaving it on the front doorstep before going to bed.
The teenager had earlier denied causing Stanley’s complex skull fractures, thought to have been caused by her foot on his head, and claimed her son was already dead when he was born.
Mayo has been sentenced on Monday to a minimum term of 12 years for the murder of her son in 2019.
Mayo's mum rang 999 after discovering Stanley's remains
She is alleged to have inflicted complex skull fractures on baby Stanley, which could have possibly been caused by her foot on his head.
The teenager then stuffed five pieces of cotton wool into his mouth – two of which were found deep in the throat, preventing him from breathing.
After giving birth in a living room, she then put Stanley’s body in a bin bag and left it on the front doorstep of her parents home before going upstairs to bed.
Stanley’s remains were discovered the following morning by Mayo’s mother who had looked inside the bloodstained bag and immediately called 999, the court was told.
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.
The Crown Prosecution Service said that Stanley’s "short life was filled with pain and suffering when he should have been nurtured and loved".
A spokesperson said: "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.
"Although Paris Mayo has been sentenced today, nothing can bring back poor Stanley who tragically lost his life before it even got a chance to begin."