A teenage girl who crushed her newborn son’s skull and stuffed cotton wool down his throat when she was just 15, has been jailed for life with a minimum of 12 years.
She was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on Monday 26 June, after a six-week trial.
Paris Mayo, now 19, was last week convicted of the murder by inflicting complex skull fractures on the newborn after giving birth in the living room of her parents’ home in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, in March 2019.
After the bone breaks, believed to have been caused by her foot on his head, she then stuffed five pieces of cotton wool into his mouth – two of which were found deep in the throat.
Mayo then put Stanley’s body in a bin bag and left it on the front doorstep of their home before going upstairs to bed.
It was gathered that the killer had texted her older brother George Mayo saying: “When you go outside, can you put the black bag in the bin, it’s just full of sick from last night, please”.
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His remains were discovered the following morning by Mayo’s mother who called the Police.
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.
Mr. Richmond added: “Paris’ 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.”
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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.”
Asked how she felt about it all, Ms Mayo said: “It makes me feel really horrible because I knew I didn’t want to hurt him.
“I do feel stupid that I didn’t go and tell anyone and get help. I loved him. I always think about what he would be like and how he would have been.”
The Crown Prosecution Service said Stanley’s “short life was filled with pain and suffering when he should have been nurtured and loved”.
In a statement, a spokesman added: “The prosecution built a case based on medical evidence which proved that Paris Mayo’s actions were deliberate, she chose to hide her pregnancy, give birth alone and kill her baby, then hide his body despite accepting that she had a family who would have supported her.
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“I would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration of this difficult case.”
Speaking outside Worcester Crown Court last week, senior investigating officer for the case, Detective Inspector Julie Taylor, said: “Paris Mayo, who was 15 years old at the time, claimed Stanley was born cold, did not make any noise and hit his head on the floor when he was born.
“She did not alert anyone to the birth of Stanley, or the fact he had died. She claimed she did not know she was pregnant at the time.
“Today, following a six-week trial at Worcester Crown Court a jury found Mayo was in fact responsible for his death; and attempted to conceal her pregnancy from those who could’ve, and would’ve supported her.
“The death of a new-born baby is utterly heart-breaking, even more so when the person who is responsible is the baby’s own mother.
“This has been a devastating case for the investigative team to deal with and I would like to thank those involved for their outstanding efforts to ensure justice has been done today.”
