A mother who was previously convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to her two-year-old daughter has gone on trial in the United Kingdom, accused of murdering the child. Sarah Ngaba, 32, was found guilty in 2020 of inflicting severe head injuries on her daughter Eliza when the baby was just seven weeks old. The injuries were described in court as 'dreadful, life-shortening, and life-limiting.'
At Birmingham Crown Court, jurors were informed that the central issue in the case is whether Ngaba's mental state was disturbed at the time of the attack, and if that disturbance was partly due to her failure to fully recover from childbirth. Prosecutor Jonas Hankin KC opened the case on Monday, stating that Eliza died at the age of two in August 2022 from an infection, as the injuries had left her vulnerable.
The court heard that Eliza was born on September 19, 2019, at Homerton Hospital in east London. Ngaba, who lived in Shropshire, chose to give birth near family members. After returning to Telford, Eliza was attacked on the morning of November 13, 2019, and subsequently taken to the hospital. Hankin noted that Ngaba, formerly of Briarwood in Brookside, Telford, had a prior conviction for causing grievous bodily harm.
The prosecution argued that the head injuries inflicted by Ngaba were a direct cause of Eliza's death, as they left her profoundly disabled and susceptible to severe complications from infections. Hankin stated, 'She died from a respiratory infection, but she would not have died from that infection had she not been rendered vulnerable by the injuries inflicted by her mother.' He emphasized that there is no dispute that Ngaba unlawfully caused Eliza's death and intended to cause serious harm. The only question is whether the defense of infanticide applies. If it does, she is guilty of infanticide; if not, she is guilty of murder.
Outlining the evidence, Hankin told the court that a witness who saw Eliza via video call on the morning of the attack noticed her body shaking. The witness advised Ngaba to take Eliza to the hospital immediately, but she reportedly said she needed to bathe first and did not call an ambulance. Instead, she called a taxi company at 8:13 a.m., was told no taxi was available until 8:50 a.m., and opted to wait. Doorbell footage showed her leaving her flat at 8:40 a.m., and supermarket footage captured her buying a lottery ticket and obtaining cashback at 8:59 a.m. The taxi driver arrived at 9:05 a.m. and described Ngaba as calm and unworried. At the hospital, she did not rush and was described by staff as annoyed, detached, and more concerned about housing than her baby's medical emergency.
The prosecutor argued that this sequence of events is inconsistent with the claim that the assault resulted from a childbirth-related disturbance of mind. He said, 'That evidence is difficult to reconcile with the suggestion that the assault on Eliza was the product of an acute childbirth-caused disturbance of mind. It is more consistent with a lack of urgency, with detachment, self-concern, and a failure simply to prioritise her daughter's welfare.'
Ngaba allegedly told a nursing sister that Eliza had not fed since around 5 a.m. and made no mention of physical trauma. The nurse who examined Eliza found her in a state of collapse, pale, unresponsive, gasping, and having seizures, requiring immediate emergency resuscitation. The court heard that Eliza's injuries resulted from forceful shaking combined with a significant impact to the head, causing a complex skull fracture.
Regarding the infanticide defense, Hankin stated, 'The defence will say that, at the time of the assault, the balance of the defendant's mind was disturbed, and it was disturbed at least in part because she had not fully recovered from the effects of giving birth. The prosecution says the evidence does not justify such a conclusion. The true picture is not one of a childbirth-related disturbance of mind – it is one of anger, frustration, resentment, and a loss of self-control.' The trial continues.
