Hythe baby death: Midwives concerned about mother, court hears

The body of the newborn boy was found close to Shore Road in March 2020

Midwives were "concerned" about a pregnant woman later accused of leaving her newborn baby for dead in woodland, a court has heard.

Maliki Keresi's body was discovered close to Shore Road in Hythe, near Southampton, on 5 March 2020.

Winchester Crown Court heard a community midwife thought of his mother Silipa Keresi as soon as she heard a police appeal after the body was found.

Mrs Keresi, 37, denies charges of murder and infanticide.

Giving evidence Lorraine Johnson, from the community midwifery team, said she had known Mrs Keresi since 2012 when she had been a "late presenter" of a previous pregnancy and had given birth at home without medical assistance.

Jurors were told she attended her GP surgery in Hythe on 4 February complaining of abdominal pains, so a hospital appointment was made for three days later but she failed to attend.

Asked if this was unusual, Ms Johnson said it was "concerning" and she had escalated the case to social services.

She said she had thought of Mrs Keresi as soon as she saw media reports about the baby's body being discovered.

"The location was near to where she was staying, a local woman who hadn't engaged with midwifery services and historically I knew she had given birth unattended before," Ms Johnson told jurors.

Another midwife, Zoe Greenhill, told the court she had called at the hotel where Mrs Keresi was staying on 17 February after phone messages went unanswered.

She said Mrs Keresi had called the New Forest Birth Centre in Ashurst "unhappy at my unannounced visit" and said she was planning to return home to Fiji later that week.

'God understands'

The court also heard evidence from social worker Lisa Burchill who interviewed Mrs Keresi in hospital after her arrest following Maliki's death.

Ms Burchill said Mrs Keresi had spoken about the "pressure" on her family after her husband - a Commonwealth soldier - left the army.

"She spoke about her immigration status, housing and money," she said.

She told jurors that Mrs Keresi said she had "filled in the wrong form" when attempting to get leave to remain.

"She spoke of the impact it had had on the family in terms of getting help with housing and having to move around for the last few years," Ms Burchill told the court.

Her husband, Dharma Keresi did have settled status, the court was told. 

She told the court Mrs Keresi had said she had "snapped", that she was "struggling and couldn't cope" and that "God understands".

"She said she didn't feel alone as she could talk to God and that was an important part of her life."

Ms Burchill told jurors she asked Mrs Keresi about giving birth and she replied she had felt "in another world" and could not remember the location of the birth or whether she was in pain.

The trial continues.