Hull mum killed her baby daughter after sleepless nights

Natasha Sultan, 21, killed her “planned, wanted, adored” first child Amelia-Lilly Sultan-Curtis on October 8 last year.

Sultan, who pleaded guilty to a charge of infanticide, on what would have been the start of her trial for murder, had only slept one hour in the previous three days and nights and had been prescribed anti-depressants.

Sultan, of Welton Grove, Hull told repeated lies, at first saying nothing untoward had happened and later that she had dropped the child accidentally from waist-height after tripping in her bedroom. She has still not made a full admission to police.

Judge Jeremy Richardson QC who postponed sentencing at Hull Crown Cout until Tuesday, said he was concerned that she had not sought help after inflicting the injury on her child.

He said: “The facts are clear that you killed your much wanted and adored baby while the balance of your mind was disturbed. You have pleaded guilty to infanticide for which the maximum sentence is life imprisonment.

“There are a number of factors I cannot ignore - first your late acceptance of culpability, second the lies you told the police and doctors and the third that you did nothing to help your six-week old daughter, when you plainly caused her a grievious injury following a sudden explosion of violence when your mind was disturbed.”

The court heard that the child was discovered cold in her cot by her father James Curtis who had returned home after a night shift.

Sultan, who was woken from sleep by his shouts, appeared to break down emotionally and was later admitted to hospital herself for the night, after falling down the stairs as she rushed to follow the ambulance to hospital.

At first she claimed that the night had been uneventful and Amelia-Lilly had taken her feeds, before changing her story.

But medical experts insisted that the severity of her fractures, which they said would have caused the baby to scream before lapsing rapidly into unconsciousness, could not be explained by an accidental fall.