Mother who strangled her daughter is jailed

A WOMAN who strangled her six-year-old daughter to death with a skipping rope was jailed indefinitely yesterday.

Claire Kennedy, 33, killed her daughter Courtney when she started “playing up” as she got ready for school on May 10 last year, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

Kennedy pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility on February 5.

A number of medical experts agreed that at the time of the killing, Kennedy was suffering from a severe depressive condition, and heard voices telling her to harm Courtney.

Sentencing Kennedy under public protection guidelines, Mr Justice King said she posed a serious risk to members of the public, and must serve a minimum of three years before she can be considered for release.

Under the sentencing guidelines, Kennedy can only be released when she is no longer deemed to be a threat to the public.

Kennedy bowed her head and rocked back and forth as the court heard the events of the morning of May 10 last year.

Police were called to an address in the Kings Norton area of Birmingham after a report that a child had been killed, and found Kennedy sitting outside the house in a state of extreme distress.

When questioned about what had happened, she replied: “I’ve killed my daughter. I told them to take her off me. I’ve killed my daughter.”

She told police that as she tried to get Courtney ready for school, the six-year-old had become difficult.

Kennedy said she “snapped”, took the skipping rope Courtney had been playing with and wrapped it around her neck until she stopped breathing.

In the months before the killing, Kennedy had contacted social services and asked them to take Courtney away from her as she felt unable to cope.