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Paris Mayo guilty of murdering son hours after birth
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IMAGE SOURCE,
WEST MERCIA POLICE
Image caption,
Paris Mayo has been found guilty of murdering her infant son at her family home in Herefordshire
By Riyah Collins
BBC News, West Midlands
A teenager has been found guilty of murdering her baby son hours after she delivered him at home alone.
Paris Mayo was 15 when she gave birth to him in 2019, after concealing her pregnancy from her family.
A trial at Worcester Crown Court heard Mayo suffocated him by stuffing cotton wool into his mouth and throat.
Jurors were also able to consider a charge of infanticide but took eight hours and 38 minutes to convict her of murder.
Warning - this article contains distressing content.
Mayo, of Ruardean in Gloucestershire, gave birth to Stanley at her family home in Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire in March 2019.
The court heard how his remains were discovered by her mother the following morning in a bin bag which Mayo had left on the doorstep before going to bed.
Mrs Mayo immediately called 999 after she made the discovery and later in hospital the teenager said she had not told her mother what had happened because "she's got a lot going on".
Mayo had claimed she did not know she was pregnant and said Stanley was not moving and did not make a noise when he was born.
However medical experts said it was likely he had been alive for a couple of hours, had taken breaths and may also have cried.
IMAGE SOURCE,
PA MEDIA
Image caption,
During her trial, Mayo told jurors she had loved her son and often thinks about "what he could have been"
She said she had used the cotton wool found in the infant's mouth and throat to clean up blood and claimed his fractured skull had been caused by him falling on the floor during birth.
However the prosecution said medical evidence showed that was not an adequate explanation and that such injuries were normally found after major trauma, such as a car crash.
The court heard how Mayo had a difficult family life and her father, who was terminally ill at the time Stanley was born and died shortly after, made her feel "worthless".
He had been upstairs receiving dialysis with help from Mayo's mother, Coralie, while the baby was murdered below.
'Devastating case'
In her testimony, Mayo described how she started having sex at 13 and used it as a way to get people to like her because she was "insecure" due to her family situation.
Experts disagreed about her state of mind , with one of the opinion she had "created a false memory" while another said she was "remarkably well intact".
Mayo cried in the dock after the jury, made up of five men and seven women, returned a majority guilty verdict for murder.
The jurors were thanked by judge Mr Justice Garnham, who said it had been a "difficult and stressful case" for them to deal with.
Following the verdict, Det Insp Julie Taylor from West Mercia Police said it was "a devastating case".
"The death of a new-born baby is utterly heart-breaking, even more so when the person who is responsible is the baby's own mother," she said.
Mayo had concealed her pregnancy from people who "could have, and would have, supported her," she said.
A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said Stanley's "short life was filled with pain and suffering when he should have been nurtured and loved".
"[Mayo] 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."
The 19-year-old was remanded in custody and is set to return to Worcester Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced.
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line .
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Send your story ideas to: [email protected]
Sign up for our UK morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.
Related Topics
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Paris Mayo guilty of murdering son hours after birth
Published
1 minute ago
Share
IMAGE SOURCE,
WEST MERCIA POLICE
Image caption,
Paris Mayo has been found guilty of murdering her infant son at her family home in Herefordshire
By Riyah Collins
BBC News, West Midlands
A teenager has been found guilty of murdering her baby son hours after she delivered him at home alone.
Paris Mayo was 15 when she gave birth to him in 2019, after concealing her pregnancy from her family.
A trial at Worcester Crown Court heard Mayo suffocated him by stuffing cotton wool into his mouth and throat.
Jurors were also able to consider a charge of infanticide but took eight hours and 38 minutes to convict her of murder.
Warning - this article contains distressing content.
Mayo, of Ruardean in Gloucestershire, gave birth to Stanley at her family home in Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire in March 2019.
The court heard how his remains were discovered by her mother the following morning in a bin bag which Mayo had left on the doorstep before going to bed.
Mrs Mayo immediately called 999 after she made the discovery and later in hospital the teenager said she had not told her mother what had happened because "she's got a lot going on".
Mayo had claimed she did not know she was pregnant and said Stanley was not moving and did not make a noise when he was born.
However medical experts said it was likely he had been alive for a couple of hours, had taken breaths and may also have cried.
IMAGE SOURCE,
PA MEDIA
Image caption,
During her trial, Mayo told jurors she had loved her son and often thinks about "what he could have been"
She said she had used the cotton wool found in the infant's mouth and throat to clean up blood and claimed his fractured skull had been caused by him falling on the floor during birth.
However the prosecution said medical evidence showed that was not an adequate explanation and that such injuries were normally found after major trauma, such as a car crash.
The court heard how Mayo had a difficult family life and her father, who was terminally ill at the time Stanley was born and died shortly after, made her feel "worthless".
He had been upstairs receiving dialysis with help from Mayo's mother, Coralie, while the baby was murdered below.
'Devastating case'
In her testimony, Mayo described how she started having sex at 13 and used it as a way to get people to like her because she was "insecure" due to her family situation.
Experts disagreed about her state of mind , with one of the opinion she had "created a false memory" while another said she was "remarkably well intact".
Mayo cried in the dock after the jury, made up of five men and seven women, returned a majority guilty verdict for murder.
The jurors were thanked by judge Mr Justice Garnham, who said it had been a "difficult and stressful case" for them to deal with.
Following the verdict, Det Insp Julie Taylor from West Mercia Police said it was "a devastating case".
"The death of a new-born baby is utterly heart-breaking, even more so when the person who is responsible is the baby's own mother," she said.
Mayo had concealed her pregnancy from people who "could have, and would have, supported her," she said.
A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said Stanley's "short life was filled with pain and suffering when he should have been nurtured and loved".
"[Mayo] 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."
The 19-year-old was remanded in custody and is set to return to Worcester Crown Court on Monday to be sentenced.
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line .
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram . Send your story ideas to: [email protected]
Sign up for our UK morning newsletter and get BBC News in your inbox.
Related Topics
Ross on Wye
Murder trial given alternative verdict option
Published
3 days ago
Murder accused mum had balanced mind, court hears
Published
6 days ago
Murder accused mum had false memory, trial hears
Published
15 June
Accused mum denies killing son to hide pregnancy
Published
14 June
Accused mum denies causing newborn son's injuries
Published
13 June
Murder-accused mother 'kissed son goodbye'
Published
18 May
Baby's injuries 'like those seen in car crash'
Published
12 May
Related Internet Links
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
From other local news sites
Teenage mother guilty of murdering newborn son and putting his body in a bin bag
External
Malvern Gazette
Remnant of Herefordshire village's heritage to become a house
External
Hereford Times
Malvern fans hoping to formalise an official supporters group
External
Malvern Gazette
Sweet tale at the Market Theatre
External
Ledbury Reporter
Memory cafe forced to close by Covid pandemic to reopen
External
Redditch Advertiser
Watch as Vines Lane becomes engulfed by thick smoke
External
Worcester News
Information about BBC links to other news sites
Top Stories
LIVE
.
Tributes paid to Titan passengers as safety questions grow
James Cameron: Titan sub company cut corners
Published
1 hour ago
How Modi and Biden turbocharged India-US ties
Published
4 hours ago
Features
James Cameron: Titan sub company cut corners
What happens next in Titanic sub operation
'It's a catastrophe. Everything was washed away'
Carly Rae Jepsen on Glastonbury: I'll get lost like a child
Weekly quiz: How do Zuck and Musk plan to face off?
Why Kenya struck a big deal with the EU on its own
Students switch to AI to learn languages
Why is it so rare to hear of Western cyber-attacks?
Europe's most expensive painting ever?
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The film Churchill tried to ban
How one temple feeds 100,000 people a day
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
Parts of missing sub's cover found, expert says
8
What will Titan investigators be looking for?
9
'Implosion sounds' heard by US Navy
10
Tributes paid to Titan sub 'true explorers'
BBC News Services
On your mobile
On smart speakers
Get news alerts
Contact BBC News
Home
News
Sport
Reel
Worklife
Travel
Future
Culture
Music
TV
Weather
Sounds
Terms of Use
About the BBC
Privacy Policy
Cookies
Accessibility Help
Parental Guidance
Contact the BBC
Get Personalised Newsletters
Why you can trust the BBC
Advertise with us
© 2023 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
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