Mother accused of attempted smothering

A young South Otago mother who allegedly tried to smother her baby with a pillow was yesterday committed for trial for attempted murder.

Invercargill District Court decided the 18-year-old Tapanui woman, who has name suppression, had a case to answer and remanded her to appear in the High Court in Invercargill on August 24, the Southland Times reported.

The accused's mother told the court her daughter's life had been marked by tragedies in the lead-up to the incident in January this year.

She had become engaged the day before her 17th birthday in October 2007 and got pregnant soon afterwards, prompting a split from her fiance who could not cope with the idea of becoming a father.

In December last year, her grandmother died and by January her daughter was no longer coping, she said.

On January 25 she saw her daughter leaning over her four-month old son's cot.

The boy appeared normal but his breathing was "noisy".

Her daughter looked "shell-shocked" and seemed about to cry.

Asking her what was wrong. her daughter admitted trying to suffocate him.

Checking the baby the mother realised he was struggling to breathe.

"I asked her 'what did you do?' She said 'I held a pillow over his face'. I said 'how long?' and she replied 'a minute, a minute and a half long enough."

- NZPA