Lily-Mai Saint George: Haringey mother guilty of infanticide of 10-week-old baby

A mother has been found guilty of the infanticide of her 10-week-old baby daughter.

Lily-Mai Saint George died in February 2018 from a serious head injury and also suffered 18 rib fractures, two leg fractures and severe bruising.

On Monday, her mother Lauren Saint-George, 25, of Belmont Road, Haringey, was found guilty of the infanticide of Lily-Mai after a trial at the Old Bailey.

This offence is when a mother kills her child, aged under 12 months, but is not thought to be fully responsible for her actions due to the affects of childbirth.

She was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter.

Sally O’Neill QC, prosecuting, previously told jurors a post-mortem found Lily-Mai died from a head injury caused by forceful gripping and shaking “in keeping with suspected physical abuse”.

The tot was born prematurely in November 2017.

The jury was told that on January 8, 2018, a referral to social services was made because of a “lack of contact between the parents and the baby”.

The hospital had concerns about their ability to accommodate its physical, emotional and developmental needs, the Old Bailey heard.

It was the third referral to social services in the case, and social worker Theresa Ferguson of Haringey Council was put in charge.

She said it was safe to place the baby in her parents’ care, despite opposition by doctors.

On January 3 2018, a 999 call was made to the emergency services, with Saint-George saying that little Lily-Mai was not breathing.

When paramedics arrived at the Haringey home they began emergency first aid and took her to North Middlesex Hospital, where a CT scan revealed a bleed on the brain.

Lily-Mai was then taken to Great Ormond Street Hospital for emergency surgery, but her extensive brain injuries were so severe that she died on February 2, 2018.

A post-mortem examination on February 7 found 18 rib fractures, two bones broken in her right leg, and multiple bleeds on the brain.

The conclusion was that these injuries were consistent with physical abuse.

At the Old Bailey trial, Lily-Mai's father Darren Hurrell, 25, of Derby, was cleared of cruelty.

Saint George will be sentenced on September 9.