Mother admits killing toddler in fit of temper

Rosdeep Adekoya “lost her temper” and killed Mikaeel Kular after he was repeatedly sick following a family day out at a Nando’s restaurant in January.

After discovering his body on the floor of their Edinburgh home, she wrapped it in a duvet cover, concealed it in the suitcase and drove 25 miles to Fife to hide it in woodland.

A major search was launched for the youngster after she called the emergency services and reported him missing in an effort to conceal the crime.

But mobile phone masts recorded the 34-year-old’s journey across the Forth Road Bridge, undermining her statements to police about her whereabouts. She finally broke down, admitting to police: “It was an accident and I panicked.”

The disappearance and death of Mikaeel shocked and united the people of Edinburgh in equal measure. But few had any sense of the tragedy that was about to unfold when news first emerged a three-year-old boy was missing.

Adekoya was subsequently charged with her son’s murder but pleaded guilty yesterday at the High Court in Edinburgh to the reduced charge of culpable homicide.

She admitted a separate charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by pretending to police he had gone missing. She will be sentenced on August 25.

Defence QC Brian McConnachie said the case was “truly tragic” for all the family, and told the court: “Rosdeep Adekoya is not a monster.”

Adekoya’s internet history showed searches including “I find it hard to love my son” and “Why am I so aggressive with my son?”. He died on the night of Tuesday, January 14, from injuries inflicted the previous Sunday after the restaurant outing. He was smacked and struck on the body and head with a clenched fist after vomiting repeatedly.

Adekoya dragged him to the shower by his arms and beat him as he lay over the bath edge, causing internal damage. He was kept off nursery as his condition deteriorated and by Tuesday night he was “listless”.

Adekoya put her son’s body in a suitcase which she carried to her car boot, before taking his twin sister to nursery. She left the suitcase in woodland behind her sister’s house in Kirkcaldy, covering it with branches.

Inconsistencies began to appear in her account of events after she reported her son missing and she eventually broke down and took police to his body. The court heard Mikaeel had suffered more than 40 separate injuries.

Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable Malcolm Graham said: “Mikaeel’s disappearance and death deeply impacted on his family. It also resonated across the community in which he lived.”