Mother on charge of baby murder

A woman yesterday charged with murdering her newborn baby pleaded guilty to disposing of the body of another newborn child earlier this year.

The 27-year-old Christchurch woman, who has name suppression, appeared in the Christchurch District Court and was charged with murdering her newborn child.

Police allege the unemployed woman killed her baby between October 1 and November 30 this year.

She appeared before Judge Brian Callaghan and was remanded to December 22 for a psychiatric assessment to be prepared under the Criminal Procedures (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act.

She is to be held in secure custody at Hillmorton Hospital - a facility which handles mental health cases.

Although the woman's name has been suppressed, as are all the facts in the case, the Herald has learned that she is the same woman convicted of disposing of the body of another newborn child earlier this year.

In February, police were called to a property in Christchurch, where the body of a mummified baby was discovered in a shed.

Authorities later confirmed that the child - believed to be a newborn or very young baby boy - belonged to a former resident of the property.

Police located the mother of the baby shortly afterwards and later said the woman had become pregnant in late 2008 or early 2009.

In March she appeared in the Christchurch District Court, where she pleaded guilty to disposing of the body of the baby.

At the time she admitted she had disposed of the child's body, with the intent to hide the fact of its birth, and said she could not remember whether the child was alive after she gave birth or was stillborn.

Before sentencing, the woman was bailed to Christchurch's Hillmorton Hospital - where she has again been ordered to be held.

- Additional reporting: NZPA