Woman sentenced after killing newborn baby

A woman has been sentenced after killing her newborn baby in Aldershot.

 Babita Rai, 24, was convicted of infanticide on the 20th of May following a two-week trial at Winchester Crown Court. The jury found her not guilty of murder.

The trial heard that police officers were called to Manor Park, Aldershot, at around 1.30pm on Friday the 19th of May 2017, after the discovery of the baby girl's body.

A post-mortem found that the cause of death was blunt force injuries to her head, inflicted shortly after birth.

Today (Monday 26th of July), Rai was sentenced to a community order of 2 years and a rehabilitation order of 30 days. She has already served 385 days in custody.

On sentencing, His Honour Mr Justice Johnson said: "None of that is to suggest that this is not serious, it was".

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Storey said: "The circumstances surrounding the death of Baby M are truly heart-breaking, and I cannot begin to imagine what the mother, Babita Rai, was going through to drive her to such an extreme act".

The verdict was supported by "sustained police activity" by Hampshire Constabulary, which included:

DCI Dave Storey continued: "It cannot be underestimated how much such a terrible event affects the local community". 

 "The investigation and subsequent trial has provided important information and answers as to what occurred. The jury examined these facts and sensibly returned Infanticide as their verdict".

 "This brings the case to a satisfactory conclusion but death of Baby M will remain a tragedy for all involved".

Chief Inspector John Halfacre said: "We are extremely grateful to the communities in Aldershot and the wider Rushmoor district for their support and assistance during this difficult investigation".