Mother who 'threw her six-day-old baby down a tower block's 40ft rubbish chute meant to kill her'
- - Jaymin Abdulrahman on trial for attempted murder and two GBH charges
- - Experts believe baby hit bottom of the chute at approximately 32mph
- - Court case to hear from two psychiatrists about her mental condition
- - The baby suffered severe brain injuries including several skull fractures
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Jaymin Abdulrahman is alleged to have tried to kill her six-day-old baby by throwing it down a bin chute
A mother tried to kill her newborn daughter by dropping her more than 40ft down a tower block rubbish chute, a court heard yesterday.
Jaymin Abdulrahman is alleged to have ‘completely swaddled’ the baby, put her in the chute, then tidied up her fifth-floor flat.
The girl was found – apparently lifeless – by her father later that day.
She had suffered severe head and brain injuries, including several skull fractures.
During her fall, she had struck a metal deflector plate placed at the foot of the chute to slow items of rubbish.
Pieces of a broken Moses basket were found in a bin at the bottom of the chute and bits of wood were discovered inside the flat, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Abdulrahman initially told police that the six-day-old girl had been kidnapped by strangers, the jury heard.
The 25-year-old, from Wolverhampton, denies attempted murder, causing grievous bodily harm with intent and inflicting grievous bodily harm.
But prosecutor Andrew Smith QC said it was expected that Abdulrahman would accept during the hearing that she put the baby, who cannot be named for legal reasons, into the chute.
The jury would hear evidence from two psychiatrists who had assessed her in recent weeks, he said.
‘The prosecution contend that Miss Abdulrahman knew what she was doing when she carried the baby from the flat and dropped her those five floors down the chute,’ Mr Smith said.
The defendant’s ‘reason or capacity’ to understand the consequences of her actions had not been removed by any mental illness at the time of the incident, he added.
Birmingham Crown Court heard that when the baby hit a metal plate at the bottom of the chute it was travelling at around 32mph. Miraculously it survived but suffered severe brain injuries including several skull fractures
The court was shown computer-generated images as Mr Smith outlined how a crash test dummy had been used to reconstruct the baby’s fall, which took 2.2 seconds.
Prosecutors said they believe Abdulrahman knew what she was doing and intended to kill the baby
He told the jury: ‘As the police investigation developed, an expert in accident reconstruction was instructed to examine how she fell and what type of forces would have been involved.’
Experiments with a dummy of a nine-month-old child revealed the vertical drop of 44ft produced an estimated impact speed with the metal plate of 32mph.
‘In summary, the expert who carried out these tests was able to conclude that the force with which the baby would have struck the metal deflector was comparable to having been in a 30mph car crash without wearing a seat-belt,’ Mr Smith said.
‘The reason why she decided to place her daughter in the rubbish chute may never be known or understood.
‘However, the prosecution say that her intention can be clearly identified from her actions on that September afternoon last year. There is unlikely to be any dispute that Abdulrahman did cause undoubtedly serious injuries.
‘The focus, the prosecution anticipates, will be on the defendant’s state of mind in those crucial minutes.
‘The prosecution anticipates that the key issue for you in this case will be what did Jaymin Abdulrahman intend, if anything, when she put her into the rubbish chute.
The prosecution submits in this case that her intention was to kill.’
The baby was found in a large bin wrapped in a piece of material after she was thrown down the rubbish chute
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