Rosdeep Adekoya, who sparked a huge search after reporting her three-year-old son missing from his home in Edinburgh in January, was sentenced to 11 years’ imprisonment after she admitted killing the boy and hiding his body in a suitcase.
Mikaeel Kular died after being beaten by his mother over a period of three days, resulting in severe internal injuries. Adekoya then wrapped his body in a duvet, placed it in a suitcase and drove to Kirkaldy, Fife, where she tried to bury it in nearby woodland.
The 34-year-old had been charged with murder but pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of culpable homicide and to attempting to defeat the ends of justice when she appeared at the high court in Edinburgh on 25 July.
At that hearing, the court heard that Mikaeel had died on the night of Tuesday 14 January from injuries inflicted the previous Sunday. His mother had lost her temper when the boy was repeatedly sick after a trip to a Nando’s restaurant at Edinburgh’s Fountain Park, and smacked him and struck him on the body and head with a clenched fist. When Mikaeel was sick for a third time, she dragged him to the shower by his arms and beat him heavily on his back as he lay over the bath edge.
Over the next few days Mikaeel’s condition worsened and he was kept out of nursery, but his mother did not take him to a doctor because of the obvious bruising. He was assaulted again on Monday after being sick and, by Tuesday night, the boy was said to be quiet and listless.
Advocate depute Alex Prentice, prosecuting, told the earlier hearing: “He would have been in significant pain but was put to bed. The pain would have increased significantly while Mikaeel became dangerously ill and finally dying as a result of the injuries inflicted upon him by the accused.”
Adekoya discovered her son’s body on the floor of his bedroom the following morning, and took his twin sister to nursery before driving straight to Fife.
The court heard that the boy had more than 40 separate injuries to his body. The final cause of death was found to be blunt force abdominal trauma.
Passing sentence, the judge, Lord Glennie, told Adekoya that her actions had been “cruel and inexcusable”.
“Mikaeel was by all accounts a healthy, happy little boy. By your actions, however unintended, you have not only robbed Mikaeel of his young life but left a gaping hole in the lives of all who loved him.”
However, he also described Adekoya’s remorse as being “genuine and heartfelt”. “You are clearly an intelligent and articulate young woman,” he said. “There is no history of violence by you towards any of your children. That makes it all the more difficult to understand your actions. I do not suppose that you really understand why you did what you did.”
Adekoya, now a prisoner at Cornton Vale, near Stirling, cried and wiped away tears throughout her sentencing appearance.
The court heard that Adekoya, who had a history of depression and had attempted suicide in 2001, had made internet searches including “I find it hard to love my son”, “I love all of my children except one”, “Why am I so aggressive with my son” and “Get rid of bruises”.
When she originally reported her son missing, Adekoya told police officers that he had climbed on a stool to unlock the front door of their flat. This prompted a large-scale search of the surrounding area involving members of the fire service, the coastguard and dog teams in addition to hundreds of members of the public.
But inconsistencies began to emerge in her account of events and, by the Friday evening, police “suspected that all was not as she had indicated”.
During a further interview she broke down and told officers: “It was an accident and I panicked. I am going to go to the jail.” She then showed officers where she had concealed her son’s body in the woods.
Appealing for leniency, defence QC Brian McConnachie told the judge: “There is no sentence your lordship can impose in this case which will be deemed sufficient by what appears to be an ill-informed mob who are no doubt at this moment waiting to express their outrage and indignation.”
McConnachie described Adekoya’s difficulties in adjusting to motherhood, the break-up of her marriage and the fact that her subsequent relationship with the father of Mikaeel and his twin sister was disapproved of by her family.
He said that Mikaeel’s death had not been preceded by months of neglect but was the result of behaviour that was completely out of character.
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