Mother and child ‘are now at peace’

Rachel Fortune, the mother of Charlotte Bevan who was found dead near her baby Zaani Tiana Bevan Malbrouck after they went missing from a maternity hospital, last night said: “My beautiful daughter and grand-daughter are now at peace.”

The body of the newborn baby girl who went missing with her mother on Tuesday were found by police less than 24 hours apart.

Zaani Tiana was discovered in the same area of Avon Gorge as her 30-year-old mother, whose body was found by police on Tuesday night. University Hospitals Bristol Trust said they have launched an investigation into the care mother and baby received.

Ms Bevan was captured on CCTV leaving Bristol Maternity Hospital coatless and carrying Zaani wrapped in just a blanket on Tuesday.

She is believed to have suffered from schizophrenia and depression and to have been sleep-deprived after giving birth.

A spokeswoman for University Hospitals Bristol Trust said the trust will be “conducting a thorough review of the care Charlotte and her baby received to see if there was anything we could have done”.

Detective chief inspector Simon Crisp described the case as “dreadful, awful, frustrating” during a press conference overlooking the Avon Gorge where the bodies were found.

“I regret to inform you that a short time ago on the cliff face close to Charlotte, the body of a small baby girl has been found,” he said.

Hours before she went missing, Ms Bevan posted a self-help video on her Facebook page called Get Through Positive And Negative Thinking Rough Patches.

But earlier this month she had posted happy pictures of herself with her baby bump on the site.