A young mother from Coventry, Jia Xin Teo, who killed her newborn infant child has been photographed. Jia Xin Teo was convicted of murder today (October 24) at Warwick Crown Court.
Jurors found Jia Xin Teo guilty of murdering her infant, whom she delivered on March 4. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) stated that she was placed in a cereal box, which was subsequently enclosed in a sealable plastic bag and then placed in a suitcase.
Law enforcement was summoned to a location on Raglan Street on March 6. West Midlands Police reported that concerns were raised for the infant after Jia Xin Teo presented at the hospital exhibiting signs of having recently given birth.
Staff enquired of Jia Xin Teo whether she had given birth, to which the 22-year-old categorically refuted. The police were concerned that she had forsaken her infant and hurried to Raglan Street.
Officers found the body of the baby girl in a cereal box, the CPS said. Jia Xin Teo declined all medical help, giving birth at her address and hiding it from her flatmates, according to West Midlands Police.
Jia Xin Teo, of Raglan Street, Coventry, later admitted having given birth and being ‘scared’ in case her family and friends back home in Malaysia found out, and it affected her studies at Coventry University. She also claimed to have been hearing voices that told her to dispose of her child.
Jurors at Warwick Crown Court rejected that defence and found Jia Xin Teo guilty of murder today (October 24, 2024). She was remanded until her trial, which began in October this year, and will be sentenced at a later date, West Midlands Police said.
James Leslie Francis, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Baby Teo was alive after birth and could have survived, but Jia Xin Teo made the decision to place her inside a cereal box, knowing that it would kill her. Today, the jury has made the decision to convict her for her actions, and I would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration in this complex and sensitive case.”
UPDATE 27.10.24 – 17 YEARS “LIFE SENTENCE”
A Coventry woman, Jia Xin Teo, who killed her newborn baby by placing her in a cereal box shortly after giving birth and then concealing the box in a suitcase has been jailed for a minimum of 17 years.
Jia Xin Teo, who is 22 and from Raglan Street in Coventry, denied murdering her baby and said she had been hearing voices which told her to kill her child.
The jury at Warwick Crown Court found her guilty of one count of murder on the 24 October. She was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 17 years on the 25 October.
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