Paris Mayo: teen mum jailed 12 years for murdering newborn son - before hiding body in rubbish bag

A teenage mother has been jailed for at least 12 years for murdering her newborn son hours after she gave birth in secret in her family's living room - hiding the infant's body in a rubbish bag.

Mayo was 15 when she gave birth to Stanley alone and without help in the living room at her parents’ home in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, on 23 March, 2019. Now 19, she was sentenced by Justice Garnham at Worcester Crown Court on Monday (26 June) after a six-week trial.

Warning: some of the content in this story may be distressing.

Paris Mayo, 19, cried in the dock after jurors at Worcester Crown Court found her guilty of her son Stanley Mayo’s murder on Friday (23 June).

The court earlier heard she assaulted the newborn, leaving him with a fractured skull, and stuffed five cotton wool balls into his mouth before putting his body in a bin bag, placing it on the front doorstep, and going to bed.

Mayo’s mother found the child the next morning when she looked inside the bloodstained bag, and immediately called 999. The teen had earlier denied causing Stanley’s complex skull fractures - thought to have been caused by her foot on his head - claiming her son had the umbilical cord round his neck, hit his head on the floor during labour, and was already dead when he was born.

However, jurors were told Stanley is thought to have lived for a little over two hours after his birth. When Mayo and Stanley were taken to Hereford County Hospital, the teenager was asked why she had not told her mother what had happened.

The court heard that she replied: “She’s got a lot going on with dad.” Mayo’s father, Patrick Mayo, had serious health problems, and was having upstairs undergoing home dialysis treatment - assisted by Mayo’s mother - on the night of the birth. He died 10 days later, the court heard.

During the trial, the court heard Paris had become pregnant at just 14 years old. The young teen had tried to convince herself she could not be pregnant, The Guardian reports. Mayo had a difficult relationship with her sick father before his death, and described him as "a bully" who frequently told his children they were worthless and stupid, she said, "and made us feel really small".

The girl gave birth in silence, despite dizziness and extreme pain. Later, asked why she did not ask her mother upstairs for help, Mayo replied: “I didn’t want her to be ashamed of me.” The Guardian reported she was also "scared" of her father's reaction.

The teen said she was "exhausted and tired" after giving birth, and put him in the black bin bag because she"just wanted it all to be over with". “I didn’t pick him up and just chuck him in there, because that’s horrible," Mayo said. “I opened it up and put it on the floor, so he wouldn’t fall in or hurt himself, I picked him up and I cuddled him goodbye."

After her sentence was passed, Mayo was remanded into custody to be sentenced on Monday (26 June).

West Mercia Police senior investigating officer for the case, Detective Inspector Julie Taylor, said: “Paris Mayo, who was 15 years old at the time, claimed Stanley was born cold, did not make any noise and hit his head on the floor when he was born.

“She did not alert anyone to the birth of Stanley, or the fact he had died. She claimed she did not know she was pregnant at the time," she continued. “Today, following a six-week trial at Worcester Crown Court a jury found Mayo was in fact responsible for his death, and attempted to conceal her pregnancy from those who could’ve - and would’ve - supported her."

The death of a newborn baby was utterly heart-breaking, DI Taylor said, especially when the person responsible is the baby’s mother. “This has been a devastating case for the investigative team to deal with and I would like to thank those involved for their outstanding efforts to ensure justice has been done today.”