Hannah Cobley: Mother who murdered newborn baby and sealed her in plastic bags is jailed for life

29-year-old searched ‘how long can a newborn last without milk in the freezing cold’ on the internet after giving birth

A woman who murdered her newborn baby by forcing an object down her throat and sealing her in three plastic bags has been jailed for life.

Hannah Cobley, who concealed her pregnancy from family and friends, left the child’s body in an overgrown area of the Leicestershire farm where she lived with her parents.

A post-mortem examination revealed the baby suffered three skull fractures and survived for two hours before dying.

Cobley was jailed for a minimum term of 18 years at Leicester Crown Court on Friday.

The 29-year-old denied murdering the baby after giving birth to her in an outside toilet in the early hours of 26 April 2017.

However, internet searches, which Cobley accepts making, included one at 3.31am which read “how long can a newborn last without milk in the freezing cold”. Another at 5.06am asked “when a baby is born how long can it survive without being fed”.

Opening the case at the start of her trial, prosecuting barrister Jonas Hankin QC said: “Ms Cobley did nothing to ensure her baby lived. On the contrary, the prosecution case is that Ms Cobley, with chilling clarity of purpose, deliberately and intentionally killed her baby.

“First, she silenced the baby’s cries by forcing something into her throat, which was later found to have caused injuries in that location. Then she assaulted the baby causing very severe head injuries.

“Finally, despite recognising that the baby might still be alive, she sealed the baby inside three plastic bags – layered, one on top of the other – and abandoned her body in an overgrown area of garden behind one of the farm outbuildings.”

Cobley left grammar school aged 15 and worked as a driver for her father’s transport business. Her pregnancy was the result of a consensual one-night stand.

Although the baby was born eight weeks premature, the jury were told she was a normal, healthy baby.

In the days after giving birth, Cobley collapsed on a family holiday in Skegness. She was taken to Leicester Royal Infirmary where she told her father about the baby.

Following sentencing, Detective Inspector Jon Blockley of Leicestershire Police said: “This is an extremely sad and tragic case which has resulted in the death of a newborn baby girl, born at 32 weeks.

He added: “Cobley could have sought help from her own family or professionals, but instead took actions into her own hands. This decision meant a newborn baby girl was denied her life.

“My thoughts remain with all those affected and I want to thank everyone who assisted in this investigation, providing information as well as to all the police officers and staff who worked tirelessly on such a devastating case.”

Additional reporting by PA