Mother gets 15 years for murder of her disabled child

Advertising saleswoman Hill, 32, drowned Naomi, who had mild cerebral palsy, in a bath but denied murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

However, a jury at Chester crown court heard hard-drinking Hill was ashamed of Naomi's condition, which meant the girl had to use calipers to help her walk.

In a unanimous verdict reached after 90 minutes, the jury found Hill guilty of Naomi's murder and Judge Elgan Edwards, the Recorder of Chester, sentenced her to life with a minimum term of 15 years.

The judge told Hill there was no excuse for what she did. He said the aggravating features in the case were the vulnerability of Naomi and the breach of trust between a mother and daughter.

He said: "You killed your own daughter because you could not cope with her disability. You had other pressures upon you, a disintegrating marriage, and you decided to kill your own daughter by drowning her."

Hill will now have to leave her secure unit and go straight to prison. Commenting on Hill's "sad" history of mental health problems, he said he hoped she would be transferred back to hospital very soon.

He added: "This has been a very sad case. Sad for you, for your husband, for the child you killed. There can be no excuse for what you did."

Hill admitted killing Naomi last November and told police she had planned to do it. A harrowing tape recording of her police interview was played to the jury in which Hill recounted in detail how she drowned her daughter.