Paris Mayo: Murder-accused mother 'in denial' about pregnancy

Prosecutors allege Ms Mayo put her foot on her baby's head before stuffing cotton wool down his throat

A teenage mother accused of murdering her newborn son had been in denial about her pregnancy, a court was told.

Paris Mayo allegedly killed her son Stanley in 2019, hours after birth by forcing cotton wool down his throat.

A court heard she told a doctor she did not think she was pregnant but informed the boy she wrongly believed was the father.

Miss Mayo, who lived in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, and was 15 at the time, denies murder.

Warning - this article contains distressing content.

The teenager concealed both her pregnancy and the delivery of Stanley, which she did alone and unaided, at her family home on 23 March, the court heard.

The baby's body was discovered in a blood-stained black plastic bin liner at the front doorstep by Mayo's mother - who dialled 999.

Ms Mayo and the child were taken to Hereford County Hospital where her remarks were heard and recorded by former West Midlands Police Det Con David Thomas the following day.

Paris Mayo alleged told a doctor she "didn't know she was pregnant"

Recounting the conversation between consultant paediatrician Dr Tom Dawson and Ms Mayo, Mr Thomas told the trial she said: "Didn't know what family would think.

"Didn't know what to do, but wanted to hide it from mum. Put it in a bag."

Mr Thomas was asked about a final entry he had made in his notebook about the conversation, which read: "Sounds like she thought she might be pregnant, but was in denial."

He then told jurors he later separately "clarified" those points with Dr Dawson, without Ms Mayo being present.

"Dr Dawson believed that Paris had been in denial during her pregnancy," Mr Thomas said.

"Which is why it is not clear whether she knew about it - or not."

Mr Thomas also recounted notes he made of an earlier conversation that Ms Mayo had in her ward bed, when her half-sister asked: "Why didn't you tell mum?"

"She's got a lot going on with Dad," Ms Mayo, who now lives in Ruardean, Gloucestershire, is said to have replied.

At a previous hearing, the court heard the defendant's father, Patrick Mayo, had serious health problems and was having home dialysis assisted by Ms Mayo's mother on the night of the birth.

He died 10 days after the incident took place.

'Banged head'

Mr Thomas also recorded Ms Mayo's half-sister asking: "If it had been moving, would you have got mum?"

Ms Mayo was "recorded as nodding", and reported as saying "it came out with the thing (umbilical cord) around its neck and I was waiting for it to make a noise".

In further remarks made by Ms Mayo, to the doctor, Mr Thomas had written: "Had baby downstairs, didn't know, it just came out.

"It came out and banged head.

"Removed (umbilical) cord from neck to see if it would start breathing.

"Baby made no noise, waiting for him to make a noise, but it didn't. Was pressing his heart to see if it would help.

"Didn't know what to do. I was reeling. Oozing from mouth, cotton wool in mouth to stop."

She reportedly added: "In back room by kitchen, couldn't feel pulse when unwrapped cord,

"Crying after and (I) went to bed," she added.

Ms Mayo was said to have told the doctors she had suffered "light periods" in the run-up to the birth, remarking "all my clothes still fitted".

She was reported to have then said that she had told a boy she wrongly thought was the father that she could have been pregnant, but he was not interested and so she decided to deal with it herself.

Stanley is alleged to have suffered a fractured skull, possibly caused by Ms Mayo's foot on his head, before she later stuffed five pieces of cotton wool into his mouth - two of which were found deep in the throat.

The trial, expected to last six weeks, continues.