A judge has
blasted a mother who repeatedly punched her 3-year-old son until he
died in an attack that 'simply beggars belief'. Rosdeep
Adekoya, 34, has been jailed for 11 years for killing her son Mikaeel
Kular, who she savagely beat then left to die for two days during a
family holiday in January.
After
discovering his lifeless body on the floor of their Edinburgh home in
Ferry Gait Crescent, she wrapped it in a duvet cover, put it in the
suitcase and drove to Kirkcaldy, Fife, to hide it in
woodland.
Adekoya
reported Mikaeel missing to police after stashing his body in remote
woodland, sparking a major two-day search operation involving hundreds
of local people and nation-wide coverage.
Now
a prisoner at Cornton Vale jail near Stirling, she was initially
charged with murder but last month pleaded guilty to the reduced charge
of culpable homicide.
She also admitted a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by pretending to police her son had gone missing.
Passing
sentence, judge Lord Glennie said a custodial sentence was inevitable
in such a case and referred to the Crown acceptance that Adekoya had no
intention to kill Mikaeel.
But he went on: 'Nevertheless, what you did was cruel and inexcusable.
'Striking
a child even once is bad enough. Striking him heavily and repeatedly
with hand and fist when he was being sick again and again simply beggars
belief.
'Mikaeel
was by all accounts a healthy, happy little boy. By your actions,
however unintended, you have not only robbed Mikaeel of his young life
but left a gaping hole in the lives of all who loved him.'
The
judge, who heard a plea for a significant discount to the sentence from
Adekoya's defence QC, said it is not clear precisely what triggered the
events leading to Mikaeel's death.
Referring
to the beatings the youngster received at the hands of his mother, Lord
Glennie told Adekoya her son was in severe pain shortly before he died.
But he said she was 'not even aware that death was a possibility until it happened'.
The judge said he accepted that Adekoya's remorse is 'genuine and heartfelt'.
'You are clearly an intelligent and articulate young woman,' he told her.
'There
is no history of violence by you towards any of your children. That
makes it all the more difficult to understand your actions. I do not
suppose that you really understand why you did what you did.'
The boy's father pictured left
Reports
prepared for the case found that Adekoya suffered from depression for
some time, particularly in the last few months before Mikaeel's death,
as the single mother found herself 'overwhelmed' by her circumstances.
'It
is clear that the normal bond between mother and child simply failed to
develop between you and Mikaeel, though it clearly developed with the
other children,' Lord Glennie added.
The
judge also pointed to the large search for Mikaeel, involving the
police, fire service, coastguard, mountain rescue teams, air support and
hundreds of members of the public.
He
said: 'By your pretence that Mikaeel had gone missing you caused a
massive manhunt to be undertaken, involving both the emergency services
and the public. I accept that this was not planned and that you simply
panicked when you realised that Mikaeel was dead. But this too... is a
serious matter.'
She was jailed for 11 years when she returned to the High Court in Edinburgh for sentencing today.
The court heard that Mikaeel died on the night of Tuesday January 14 from injuries inflicted the previous Sunday.
His mother 'lost her temper' when he was repeatedly sick following a trip to a Nando's restaurant at the city's Fountain Park.
She smacked him and struck him on the body and head with a clenched fist, the court heard previously.
When
Mikaeel was sick for a third time, she dragged him to the shower by his
arms and 'beat him heavily' on his back as he lay over the bath edge.
Over the next few days Mikaeel's condition worsened and he was kept off nursery.
He
was assaulted again on the Monday after being sick and became
'listless', but his mother did not take him to a doctor because of the
bruising.
By Tuesday night, Mikaeel was said to be 'quiet' and was giving a 'limited' response to his mother's questions.
Shockingly,
it has emerged she trawled the internet with searches such as 'I find
it hard to love my son' and 'get rid of bruises' in the months leading
up to his death.
Advocate depute Alex Prentice, prosecuting, told the court: 'He would have been in significant pain but was put to bed.
'The
pain would have increased significantly while Mikaeel became
dangerously ill and finally dying as a result of the injuries inflicted
upon him by the accused.'
After
discovering her son's body, Adekoya put it in a suitcase which she
carried to the boot of her car, before taking his twin sister to
nursery.
She left the case in woodland behind her sister's house in Dunvegan Avenue, Kirkcaldy, covering it with branches.
But
mobile telephone masts recorded the 34-year-old's journey across the
Forth Road Bridge, undermining her statements to police about her
whereabouts.
She eventually broke down and took officers to his body.
The
final cause of Mikaeel's death was found to be 'blunt force abdominal
trauma' and the court heard he had more than 40 separate injuries to his
body.
Culled from UK Daily Mai
