A teenager who killed her newborn son after giving birth alone has been jailed for a minimum of 12 years. Paris Mayo, 19, was found guilty of murdering Stanley Mayo, who was just hours old, at Worcester Crown Court on Friday and was jailed at the same court on Monday.
A trial had heard Mayo was 15 when she gave birth to Stanley unaided in a living room at her parents' home in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, on March 23, 2019. She assaulted Stanley, leaving him with a fractured skull, stuffed five cotton wool balls into his mouth and pinched his nose before putting his body in a bin bag, leaving it on the front doorstep and going to bed.
The teenager had denied knowing she was pregnant and killing her son, saying he was already dead when she gave birth to him. Mayo, of Ruardean in Gloucestershire, cried in the dock on Friday as jurors returned a majority guilty verdict after eight hours and 38 minutes of deliberation.
On Monday, Mayo, who was remanded in custody over the weekend, appeared in the dock again wearing the same black T-shirt and black-and-white patterned skirt she wore to court on Friday, to be sentenced by judge Mr Justice Garnham. Her defence lawyer, Bernard Richmond KC, said Mayo was a "pathetic and vulnerable individual" who was "immature" and had not been supported by people around her.
Before the judge passed his sentence, Mr Richmond said: "When faced with a decision she had to make, she did not face up to it. By the time she had to, the decision she made was woefully, woefully wrong. This was a 15-year-old girl who was vulnerable and used by people around her and wasn't supported."
He added that Mayo's mother had not been able to face seeing her daughter in the dock and explained that when he was alive, her father Patrick could be "emotionally cruel". Mr Mayo, who had a number of health ailments and was receiving at home dialysis upstairs in the house when his daughter gave birth, died 10 days after Stanley was born.
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Mr Richmond added: "Paris's dad died the day before her first interview. It has been said she killed him too, and that adds to the burden upon her.
"This will, in every sense of the word, be a life sentence. It will be a lonely, isolating and frightening time for her."
For the prosecution, Jonas Hankin KC argued that the killing of baby Stanley was premeditated. He said: "Paris Mayo clearly intended to prevent the discovery of the pregnancy or the existence of the baby. A decision was made to eschew help from her mother, father, or the emergency services and kill her baby."
Jailing her for a minimum of 12 years, Mr Justice Garnham said it was a "sad and terrible" case.
He said: "You did nothing to prepare yourself for giving birth. You were frightened and traumatised by this event.
"I have no doubt it was painful and overwhelming for you. It seems you did not cry out, so anxious were you not to disturb your parents upstairs.
"As soon as Stanley was born, you decided he could not live and you assaulted him about the head. How you did this is not clear, but I suspect you crushed his head, probably beneath your foot. It certainly caused him serious damage, but that assault did not kill Stanley.
"He remained alive. You decided you had to finish Stanley off by stuffing cotton wool balls into his throat. As difficult as your circumstances may have been, killing your baby son was a truly dreadful thing to do."
Mayo, who cried as she was led back to the cells, will serve at least 12 years before she can be considered for parole.
