Mother who attempted to murder her eight-year-old autistic son at her Yorkshire home on Christmas Eve is given 16-year sentence

The woman, who cannot be named to protect the identities of her children, appeared at Bradford Crown Court today after pleading guilty to attempted murder in relation to the incident in December 2021 at the house in Keighley.

She has been detained in a psychiatric hospital since last summer, and been diagnosed with a personality disorder for which she is being treated.

The court was told that in the lead-up to the attack on the ‘very vulnerable’ boy, who is autistic and non-verbal, the 40-year-old defendant had tried to smother her cat, gone to a neighbour’s home armed with a pair of scissors and stood in her mother’s garden with thoughts of killing her family.

Although she had been known to mental health services since 2008, and had attempted suicide while pregnant with her elder child, her condition had not significantly deteriorated until 2019, and she had several hospital admissions in which she admitted to ‘intrusive’ thoughts about harming others. These included smothering her children, strangling nurses and stabbing people.

Both of her children were removed from her care and went to live with her mother, but over time her mental state stabilised and she was allowed unsupervised contact with them.

On December 24, the woman’s mother asked her to look after the boy to allow her to prepare for Christmas, asking for him to be home by 2pm. She had had no concerns about her daughter in the preceding weeks.

The defendant made a 999 call herself just before 3pm, and police found her son naked on a sofa with 31 lacerations to his body. He was taken to Leeds General Infirmary and had to undergo reconstructive surgery to his hand, though has since made a full recovery.

She later told police that she had become angry when her son asked to return to his grandmother, and had attempted to smother him before going outside for a cigarette to calm down. When she went back inside and he asked again, she attacked him with a 12-inch kitchen knife. Neighbours heard the boy screaming ‘no’.

The defendant’s barrister described the offence as ‘out of character’ and told the court she felt genuine remorse for what she had done. She had tried to clean her son’s wounds and complied with all treatment and assessment at the psychiatric hospital.

The court heard evidence from psychiatrists treating the defendant, who agreed she struggled with a lack of empathy for others, forming stable relationships, impulsivity, instability, controlling anger and a sense of emptiness. They judged that some of her long-term care could be provided in prison.

The medical professionals added that she struggled with feeling ‘rejected’ if she felt her needs were not being taken seriously, and that she had attended A&E in crisis on several occasions and felt she was not being listened to.

Sentencing her to 16 years in custody, Judge Jonathan Rose ordered her immediate return to hospital for a period of stabilisation treatment which will allow for her later transfer to prison.