A mother went on a trip to Skegness the day after giving birth to a baby girl in an outside toilet.

Hannah Cobley inflicted severe head injuries on the infant and sealed her inside three plastic bags despite signs she may still have been alive, a court heard.

She then abandoned the child's body in an overgrown area of the farm where she lived with her parents and cousin in Stoney Stanton, Leicestershire, in the early hours of April 26, 2017.

She had concealed the pregnancy from family and friends.

Hannah Cobley has been found guilty of murdering her newborn baby

Cobley, 29, tried to make out everything was normal and even went on a family trip to Skegness the following day, Leicester Crown Court was told.

Cobley, of Broughton Road, was convicted of murdering the baby, which she had denied.

She had claimed she had not killed or even harmed the infant after the baby’s body was discovered by police outside the property.

But examination of her mobile phone revealed she had made searches such as "how long a baby can survive without being fed" and "what happens when a newborn baby is dropped".

The trial jury heard the unnamed child had suffered a catalogue of injuries including a three skull fractures, bruising, cuts and bruises, as well a brain injury.

An object had been forced down the child's throat after she had been born prematurely at 32 weeks, reports Mirror Online.

Opening the case at the start of her trial, prosecuting barrister Jonas Hankin QC said: "Ms Cobley did nothing to ensure her baby lived.

Hannah Cobley arriving at court during her trial

"On the contrary, the prosecution case is that Ms Cobley, with chilling clarity of purpose, deliberately and intentionally killed her baby."

Prosecutor Mr Hankin told the court that the “The body was concealed for several days,” reports Lincolnshire Live.


The baby’s body was only discovered after Cobley began to suffer serious bleeding upon her return from Skegness.

Judge, Mrs Justice Carr said: “She said after she came back from Skegness she didn’t tell her parents what had happened because she was a very closed person who didn’t speak out.

“At this stage she was experiencing serious bleeding.”

The welcome to Skegness sign

It was heard that Cobley chose not to tell medics she had given birth because she felt “ashamed”.

She denied having giving birth when asked about it by the police. The first person Cobley told about the baby was her father.

The judge added: “She said she gave the wrong information to the police because she was ashamed and scared.”

Cobley denied murdering the infant and claimed the baby had been born stillborn, but it took a jury just one hour and 40 minutes to convict her of murder.

She was sentenced to life in prison where she must serve a minimum term of 18 years.

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.




