A Midland mother accused of murdering her baby daughter took a bath and bought a lottery ticket before taking the injured infant to hospital in a taxi, a court has heard.
Sarah Ngaba, 32, has admitted causing fatal head injuries to her seven-week-old daughter Eliza but denies murder, claiming she is guilty of infanticide instead. The prosecution argues her actions before and after the attack show she was not suffering from a disturbed mind linked to childbirth.
Prosecution Opens Case
Opening the case at Birmingham Crown Court on Monday, prosecutor Jonas Hankin KC said Eliza died in August 2022 at age two from an infection, after being left vulnerable by the injuries inflicted by her mother. The court heard Eliza was born in Homerton Hospital in east London on September 19, 2019, as Ngaba wanted to be near family in Shropshire.
The attack occurred on the morning of November 13, 2019, after Ngaba had returned to Telford. Mr Hankin told the jury that Ngaba, formerly of Briarwood in Brookside, Telford, had a prior conviction for causing grievous bodily harm.
Sequence of Events
The court heard that a witness who saw Eliza on a video call that morning noticed her body was shaking and advised Ngaba to take her to hospital immediately. However, Ngaba said she needed to have a bath and did not call an ambulance.
Instead, she rang a taxi company at 8.13am but was told no taxi was available until 8.50am. Despite this, she accepted the delayed taxi. Doorbell footage showed her leaving her flat at 8.40am, and supermarket footage at 8.59am captured her buying a lottery ticket and obtaining cashback.
The taxi driver arrived at 9.05am and described Ngaba as calm and not seeming worried. Upon arrival at hospital, she remained calm and did not rush. Staff described her as annoyed, detached, and more concerned about housing than her baby's medical emergency.
Medical Evidence
Mr Hankin said the sequence of events was difficult to reconcile with a claim of acute childbirth-caused disturbance. He argued it showed a lack of urgency, detachment, and self-concern. Ngaba told a nursing sister that Eliza had not fed since around 5am and made no reference to physical trauma.
When Eliza was taken out of the pram, a nurse immediately saw she was in a state of collapse: pale, unresponsive, gasping, and having seizures. The nurse feared Eliza was about to die and required emergency resuscitation.
The court heard Eliza's injuries were caused by forceful shaking together with a very significant impact to the head, resulting in a complex skull fracture.
Infanticide Defence
The defence is expected to argue that at the time of the assault, Ngaba's mind was disturbed, at least in part because she had not fully recovered from giving birth. However, the prosecution contends the evidence points to anger, frustration, resentment, and loss of self-control, not a childbirth-related disturbance.
The trial continues.
