A woman who killed her three-year-old son and hid his body in the woods was jailed yesterday for 11 years.
Mikaeel Kular died two days after being beaten repeatedly by Rosdeep Adekoya following a family day out in January.
After discovering his lifeless body on the floor of their Edinburgh home in Ferry Gait Crescent, she wrapped him in a duvet cover, stuffed him in a suitcase and drove about 25 miles to Kirkcaldy, Fife, to hide him in woodland.
Ms Adekoya, 34, then reported him missing to police, sparking a major two-day search involving hundreds of local people.
She was initially charged with murder but last month pleaded guilty to the reduced charge of culpable homicide.
She also admitted a charge of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by pretending to police that her son was missing.
The Scottish High Court, which heard that Mikaeel died on the night of Tuesday January 14 from injuries inflicted the previous Sunday, jailed her for 11 years when she returned for sentencing in Edinburgh.
Prosecutor John Dunn said: “There can be few crimes more shocking than a parent killing their child.”Judge Lord Glennie said a custodial sentence was inevitable in such a case and referred to the Crown acceptance that Ms Adekoya did not intend to kill her son.
“Nevertheless, what you did was cruel and inexcusable,” he said.
“Striking a child even once is bad enough. Striking him heavily and repeatedly with hand and fist when he was being sick again and again simply beggars belief.”