A teenager has been jailed for life for murdering her infant son by stuffing cotton wool in his mouth

A teenage woman who murdered her young son when she was just 15 by fracturing his skull and stuffing cotton wool in his mouth has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 12 years at Worcester Crown Court.

Last week, Paris Mayo, now 19, was convicted of the grotesque murder of baby Stanley, leaving him with advanced skull fractures after he was born in the lounge of her mother and father’s lonely home in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, in March. 2019 year.

After the bone was damaged, presumably because her foot was on his head, she put 5 pieces of cotton in his mouth, two of which are stuck deep in his throat.

Mayo then stuffed Stanley’s lifeless body right into a garbage bag and left it at the door of his house earlier than going upstairs to the mattress.

Horrifyingly, the killer had texted her older brother George Mayo saying: “When you go out can you put the black bag in the bin as it’s full of last night’s sick.”

The next morning, his whereabouts were found by Mayo’s mum, who called the police.

Her lawyer, Bernard Richmond, told the KC that Mayo was a “pathetic and vulnerable individual” who was “immature” and never supported her.

Before sentencing, Mr Richmond said: ‘When she had to make a decision, she didn’t face it. In her moment of need, the decision she made was woefully, woefully wrong.

“This was a 15-year-old girl who was vulnerable and was being taken advantage of and not supported by those around her.”

He added that Mayo’s mum could not cope with seeing her daughter in the dock, explaining that when he was alive, her father Patrick could potentially be “emotionally cruel”.

Mr Mayo, who had various well-being issues and was on residential dialysis upstairs when his daughter gave birth, died 10 days after Stanley was born.

Richmond added: ‘Paris’ father died a day before her first interview. It was stated that she also killed him, including on her burden. “This is a life sentence in every sense of the word. It will be a lonely, isolating and scary time for her.

Before the prosecution, Jonas Hankins KC claimed that the killing of the child Stanley was deliberate. He stated: “Paris Mayo clearly wanted to prevent the pregnancy or the existence of the child from being discovered.

“The decision was made to avoid the help of the mother, father or emergency services and to kill her baby.” Judge Garnham said jailing her for a minimum of 12 years was a “sad and appalling” factor.

He said: “You have done nothing to arrange the delivery. This incident has scared and traumatized you. “I have little doubt that it was painful and overwhelming for you. It seems like you weren’t bluffing, you were so afraid of disturbing your mother and father upstairs.

“As soon as Stanley was born, you determined that he could no longer live, and you also attacked him at the top. “How you did it is not clear, but I suspect that you crushed his head, perhaps under your foot. It certainly did him some serious damage, but this attack didn’t kill Stanley.

‘He survived. You decided you had to finish Stanley off by stuffing cotton balls down his throat.

“As difficult as your circumstances were, killing your own son was a truly horrible thing to do.”

Mayo, who cried as she was led back to prison, will serve at least 12 years before being eligible for parole.

During the trial, Mayo told the court she did not know she was pregnant.

Earlier, Worcester Crown Court heard that Stanley was conceived in the summer of 2018 and had been suffering from illness and back and stomach pains in Mayo until the autumn.

Bernard Richmond KC, defending, asked if she knew she was pregnant before Stanley was born.

“No, I was always afraid of the thought that I might be. I had never taken the test before,” Mayo told the jury.

“I was more suspicious than I could have been, instead of knowing if it was me or not.

“I would just try to justify myself with what I thought was wrong. I was worried that I might be because I was gaining weight, but I tried to put it down to other things.

“I eat larger portions of food and eat throughout the day.”

Mr Richmond asked: “Was there a stage before you were born when you said to yourself, ‘I’m pregnant’?” to which Mrs. Mayo replied, “No.”

Describing her intermittent illness in late 2018, Mayo told the courtroom: “I think there were times when I was sick, but it would come back and go — it was intermittent.

“I thought it was a stomach bug that went away, or I ate something that wasn’t good for me.”

When Mr. Richmond asked, “Have you ever equated it to pregnancy?” Mayo replied, “No.”

Jurors have been told that the suspect was taken to the GP by her mum in October 2018 and during the investigation she was asked if she had had sex.

Ms Mayo informed the courtroom: “At that point she asked me if I was having sex and I said no because at the time I wasn’t,” she stated.

“I think I misunderstood what she was asking. I felt like I could have told her if I felt comfortable enough, but I didn’t know how to go about it.

Mr Richmond asked if her mother knew she had sex and she said: “I think she knew I had sex but she thought I had stopped having sex with people.”

“I think she already knew I had lost my virginity, but thought I wasn’t having sex with people anymore.”

Jurors have been told that Stanley was conceived when Mayo was 14 and that the teenager changed her virginity at 13.

Explaining why she started having sex at such a young age, she said: “I just thought it was a way to get people to like me because I had some insecurities about how I looked and how I felt at home.” considering that my domestic scenario was very dangerous as a result.

“I was always patronized and belittled and told I was worthless. I just wanted to feel a little more validated, and I felt that I got that by having sex with people.

Mayo informed the jury that she did not admit to being pregnant until after she had given birth.

“He wasn’t crying or making a sound, and his eyes weren’t open,” she said.

“I started freaking out because he wasn’t crying or making a sound and I was really scared. It all happened so fast that I don’t really remember much of it.

“I just remember him hitting his head and that was it really. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck when I untied it and then it snapped.

Mr Richmond asked: “Stanley had skull fractures. Did you put them on him on purpose?

Mrs Mayo replied: “No.”

When asked about putting cotton balls in Stanley’s mouth, she said: “I thought something was coming out of his mouth.” When asked, I said two, and that’s all I can think of.

Asked how she felt about it, Mrs Mayo said: “I feel really awful because I knew I didn’t want to hurt him.

“I feel really stupid because I didn’t tell anyone and I didn’t get help. I loved him. I always wondered what he would be like and what he would be like.

But after weeks of testing, Mayo’s claims were proven to be false and it was proven that she had deliberately concealed her pregnancy.

The prosecution said Stanley’s “short life was filled with pain and suffering when he should have been cherished and loved”.

In a statement, the spokesperson added: “The prosecution built a case based on medical evidence that proves Paris Mayo’s actions were intentional. There was a family that would have supported her.

“I want to thank the jury for their thorough consideration of this difficult case.”

Detective Inspector Julie Taylor told the final week of Worcester Crown Court: “Paris Mayo, aged 15 at the time, claimed Stanley was born cool, made no sound and hit his head on his bottom when he was born.

“She didn’t tell anyone about Stanley’s birth or death. She claimed she didn’t know she was pregnant at the time.

“Today, after a six-week trial at Worcester Crown Court, a jury has found that Mayo was indeed responsible for his death; and attempted to conceal her pregnancy from those who could and would have supported her.

“The death of a newborn is heartbreaking, especially when the person responsible is the baby’s own mother.

“This was a devastating case for the investigative team and I would like to thank those involved for their outstanding efforts to bring justice today.”