Mum killed newborn baby girl by putting her in cereal box and hiding it in a suitcase

Jia Xin Teo concealed her pregnancy while she was studying at Coventry University and gave birth to her full-term baby in secret on March 4, before putting her in a cereal box and hiding it in a suitcase

A young mum who killed her newborn baby by putting her in a cereal box and hiding it in a suitcase has been convicted of murder.

Jia Xin Teo concealed her pregnancy while she was studying at Coventry University and gave birth to her full-term baby in secret on March 4. The court was told the 22-year-old student placed the baby girl in a cereal box, sealed that in a plastic bag, which was then put inside a suitcase.

By the time police discovered the body two days later, the baby was dead, prosecutors told the court. Teo, originally from Malaysia, denied murdering her baby and said she had been hearing voices which told her to kill or harm the baby.

A jury sitting at Warwickshire Crown Court in Leamington Spa, rejected her defence and found her guilty. She is set to be sentenced at a later date.

Speaking after the case, James Leslie Francis, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Jia Xin Teo hid her pregnancy from everyone she knew and arrived in the UK knowing she was likely to give birth here. She had opportunity to seek help but instead chose to carry her pregnancy in secret and give birth alone.

"After she gave birth, she still did not tell anybody and refused to go to hospital to get checked. She lied to friends who cared about her, to doctors at the hospital, and to the police so no-one found her baby. She did not tell the police where she hid her baby until two days had passed, by which time the baby would certainly be dead.

“Baby Teo was alive after birth and could have survived, but Jia Xin Teo made the decision to place her inside a cereal box knowing it would kill her. Today, the jury has made the decision to convict her for her actions and I would like to thank them for their careful consideration in this complex and sensitive case.”