Belfast baby murder case: Woman found guilty of killing son

A woman has been found guilty of murdering her eight-week old son and attempting to murder his two-year-old sister.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, accepted she stabbed the children on 27 July 2021 but denied the charges.

But jurors rejected her argument and found her guilty after more than five hours of deliberations.

The woman was convicted at Belfast Crown Court on Thursday.

She will receive an automatic life sentence, with the amount of time she has to serve before being considered for parole being set at a later date.

The woman placed her head in her hands and sobbed "no, no, no" as the jury read out the guilty verdict.

The juror broke down as she read the guilty verdict and had to sit down to compose herself.

When handing down the life sentence, Judge Donna McColgan said "this has been a very difficult and stressful case".

"I will be excusing the jury from jury service for the rest of their lives," she added.

"Counselling will also be made available to all jurors."

Over the last six weeks, Belfast Crown Court has heard harrowing evidence.

After the woman stabbed the children, she made five phone calls, including one to the children's father, telling him that their daughter was "lying slowly bleeding".

It was only after this call that she phoned 999, telling police: "I killed my kid for him."

The case is due to be mentioned again in court next week, with the minimum tariff the woman will serve before being considered for parole still to be set.

The woman cannot be named to protect the identity of her surviving child.