A mother, Rosdeep Adekoya, 34, has been jailed for 11 years for killing her son Mikaeel Kular, who she savagely beat then left to die for two days during a family holiday in January.
After discovering his lifeless body on the floor of their Edinburgh home in Ferry Gait Crescent, she wrapped it in a duvet cover, put it in the suitcase and drove to Kirkcaldy, Fife, to hide it in woodland.
Adekoya reported Mikaeel missing to police after stashing his body in remote woodland, sparking a major two-day search operation involving hundreds of local people and nation-wide coverage.
Now a prisoner at Cornton Vale jail near Stirling, 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 her son had gone missing.
Passing sentence, judge Lord Glennie said a custodial sentence was inevitable in such a case and referred to the Crown acceptance that Adekoya had no intention to kill Mikaeel.
But he went on: 'Nevertheless, what you did was cruel and inexcusable.
'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.
'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.'
The judge, who heard a plea for a significant discount to the sentence from Adekoya's defence QC, said it is not clear precisely what triggered the events leading to Mikaeel's death.
Referring to the beatings the youngster received at the hands of his mother, Lord Glennie told Adekoya her son was in severe pain shortly before he died.
But he said she was 'not even aware that death was a possibility until it happened'.
The judge said he accepted that Adekoya's remorse is 'genuine and heartfelt'.
'You are clearly an intelligent and articulate young woman,' he told her.
'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.'
Reports prepared for the case found that Adekoya suffered from depression for some time, particularly in the last few months before Mikaeel's death, as the single mother found herself 'overwhelmed' by her circumstances.
'It is clear that the normal bond between mother and child simply failed to develop between you and Mikaeel, though it clearly developed with the other children,' Lord Glennie added.
The judge also pointed to the large search for Mikaeel, involving the police, fire service, coastguard, mountain rescue teams, air support and hundreds of members of the public.
He said: 'By your pretence that Mikaeel had gone missing you caused a massive manhunt to be undertaken, involving both the emergency services and the public. I accept that this was not planned and that you simply panicked when you realised that Mikaeel was dead. But this too... is a serious matter.'
She was jailed for 11 years when she returned to the High Court in Edinburgh for sentencing today.
The court heard that Mikaeel died on the night of Tuesday January 14 from injuries inflicted the previous Sunday.
His mother 'lost her temper' when he was repeatedly sick following a trip to a Nando's restaurant at the city's Fountain Park.
She smacked him and struck him on the body and head with a clenched fist, the court heard previously.
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 off nursery.
He was assaulted again on the Monday after being sick and became 'listless', but his mother did not take him to a doctor because of the bruising.
By Tuesday night, Mikaeel was said to be 'quiet' and was giving a 'limited' response to his mother's questions.
Shockingly, it has emerged she trawled the internet with searches such as 'I find it hard to love my son' and 'get rid of bruises' in the months leading up to his death.
Advocate depute Alex Prentice, prosecuting, told the court: '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.'
After discovering her son's body, Adekoya put it in a suitcase which she carried to the boot of her car, before taking his twin sister to nursery.
She left the case in woodland behind her sister's house in Dunvegan Avenue, Kirkcaldy, covering it with branches.
But mobile telephone masts recorded the 34-year-old's journey across the Forth Road Bridge, undermining her statements to police about her whereabouts.
She eventually broke down and took officers to his body.
The final cause of Mikaeel's death was found to be 'blunt force abdominal trauma' and the court heard he had more than 40 separate injuries to his body. Source
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