Mum killed baby while mental health unit inpatient

Hayley MacFarlane (right) was suffering from post-partum psychosis and depression when she killed her daughter

A mother who admitted killing her five-month-old daughter had been a voluntary inpatient at a mental health unit at the time of the child's death, a court has heard.

Hayley MacFarlane, 39, fatally smothered baby Evelyn while on a walk in Woodhouse Moor Park in Leeds on 20 December.

MacFarlane was initially charged with murder, but the prosecution accepted her guilty plea to infanticide at Leeds Crown Court earlier this month.

At Sheffield Crown Court on Friday, MacFarlane, of Carrington Street, Barnsley, was told she would be sentenced next week.

Hayley MacFarlane appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Friday

Infanticide is legally defined as the unlawful killing of a child aged under 12 months by its biological mother, when at the time the "balance of the mother's mind was disturbed".

The court heard MacFarlane unknowingly suffered from postnatal depression and postpartum psychosis following her daughter’s birth on 10 July 2023.

Craig Hassall KC, prosecuting, said MacFarlane became convinced she was adversely affecting her baby’s development and health, leading to a self-referral to the local mental health team in October.

She was discharged three days later, but underwent an urgent assessment on 31 October.

The court was told that on both occasions MacFarlane was prescribed anti-depressants and sleeping tablets.

'Bright and reactive'

MacFarlane was voluntarily admitted to Fieldhead Hospital in Wakefield after placing her baby into a sink filled with water on 2 November.

At the time, the court heard, MacFarlane displayed a fixed belief that she had “ruined everything” and had “stunted Evelyn’s development”.

Mr Hassall told the judge this was the first time it was recognised that there had been psychosis rather than depression.

MacFarlane was subsequently transferred to a specialist mother and baby unit at The Mount in Leeds, where she was prescribed anti-psychotic medication and detained under the Mental Health Act.

The court was told that a few days later, staff described a change in MacFarlane, with her having gone from “profoundly depressed” to “bright and reactive”.

She was discharged when her Mental Health Act detention expired 28 days later, but she remained on the ward as a voluntary patient.

Hayley MacFarlane was later transferred to The Mount in Leeds

Speaking in court on Friday, Dr Suraj Shenoy told The Honourable Mrs Justice Christina Lambert KC he had concerns that MacFarlane’s GP had missed “psychotic elements of her presentation”.

“She has done what she could’ve done and tried to seek help. She did have doubts about her treatment, but that is linked to her psychotic belief,” Dr Shenoy said.

"She was in hospital. The fact she was discharged does not automatically translate to her being well."

The court was told that on 20 December, MacFarlane attended the unit's Christmas party with baby Evelyn, where she appeared to be “in good spirits".

Shortly before 16:00 GMT, she took her daughter on an unsupervised walk, which she was allowed to do due to the progress staff thought she had made.

During that walk she phoned her husband to discuss Christmas plans.

She then texted him him two hours later saying: “I want you to know how much I love you, the life we have created and dream of including our beautiful little girl.”

However, the court heard that 13 minutes after this message was sent she called her husband to say, “Evelyn is gone”, before she phoned 999 to report she had killed her daughter.

'Longed-for daughter'

Mr Hassall told the court: “At no point has Mrs MacFarlane sought to deny any responsibility for Evelyn’s death.”

Louise Blackwell KC, defending, said Evelyn had been a “longed-for” and “very loved” daughter.

She added that her client was a gentle and caring person.

However, Ms Blackwell said: “By mid- to late October, there was a considerable change and the GP and the community psychiatric services failed to recognise the level of psychosis."

MacFarlane was told she would be sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story you can visit BBC Action Line.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail].