A mother who drowned and burned her four-year-old daughter has today been found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity.
Carly Ann Harris killed her daughter Amelia Brooke Harris in a ‘sacrifice’ at their home in South Wales in June this year.
The 38-year-old had denied murder and manslaughter, telling doctors she was a fallen angel chosen by God and needed to prove her faith by ‘offering’ her little girl.
Harris had suffered from schizophrenia following a urinary tract infection in 2014, the court heard.
A psychiatrist said she appeared to have experienced ‘paranoid and religious delusions’ and believed she had to kill Amelia to save the world, and was being tested by God who would then return her daughter to her.
The mother-of-three was today sentenced at Newport Crown Court to a hospital order without a limit of time.
Carly Ann Harris, 38, drowned and burned her four-year-old daughter Amelia Brooke Harris (right)
Carly Ann Harri was found not guilty of murder by reason of insanity by a jury
Prosecutor Michael Jones QC said it was an ‘exceptional’ case and the jury was asked to put their emotions aside as they heard the ‘harrowing and tragic evidence.’
One juror was excused 10 minutes into the trial because she could not bear to hear the gruesome details of how little Amelia died.
The jury today returned a ‘special verdict’ after hearing that psychiatrists – appearing for both the prosecution and defence – agreed Harris was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
The mother-of-three was today sentenced to a hospital order without a limit of time
Justice Simon Picken said: ‘A richly promising girl met her death at the hands of her mother and in the most horrific manner.
‘I am satisfied that you are suffering from a mental health disorder, namely schizophrenia.
‘The intention is that as soon as possible you will be transferred to an appropriate clinic close to home.
‘The most suitable method is me making an order under S37 of the 1983 Act and that is it necessary to protect the public from serious harm.’
Amelia’s teenage brother found her body, wrapped in a sheet, on a table in their garden in Trealaw, Rhondda, South Wales, on June 8 this year.
Neighbours heard screaming and went into the street to see what was wrong, before finding Harris’s older children, who were visibly distressed.
The court heard that neighbour Megan Griffiths saw Harris standing in the front garden, looking ‘dazed’, and the defendant told her: ‘God will be with her. The angels have taken her.’
The neighbour dialled 999 and went into the back garden of Harris’s house where she saw Amelia’s charred remains lying on the coffee table covered with a sheet.
When the police arrived at the scene, Harris told them: ‘The angels told me to do it. Just arrest me. It’s OK.’
One of Harris’s two sons said his mother had ‘not been well’ for some six weeks before the incident, the court heard.
Home Office pathologist Dr Richard Jones concluded Amelia had died from drowning and was already dead when she was set on fire.
Harris had been taking ‘small amounts’ of amphetamines leading up to the incident, but experts agreed she had not been suffering from drug-induced psychosis.
Dr Arden Tomison, a psychiatrist, diagnosed Harris with schizophrenia and said at the time she was suffering from ‘abnormality of mental function which substantially impaired her ability to form a rational judgment’.
Another psychiatrist, Dr Phillip Joseph, agreed Harris had suffered from schizophrenia following a urinary tract infection in 2014.
Jurors have been told there was no dispute that Harris killed her daughter or about events leading up to the incident, but they were tasked with deciding whether she was not guilty of murder by reason of insanity, or guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Trial judge, Mr Justice Picken, told the panel of six men and six women they had the option of returning a ‘special verdict’ in the circumstances of this case.
Passing sentence, Mr Justice Picken said he was imposing a hospital order and restriction order without limit of time under the 1983 Mental Health Act.
‘This is a deeply sad case in circumstances where you have killed your four-year-old daughter Amelia at your house which you shared with her,’ the judge said.
‘These facts speak for themselves. A young girl rich in promise met her death at the hands of her own mother in the most horrific manner.
‘I am satisfied that you were suffering from a mental disorder, namely schizophrenia, which means it is suitable for you to be remain at a hospital for medical treatment and that is consistent with the jury’s verdict.
Speaking outside court, Harris’s mother Jacqui Harris, who was visibly upset, said: ‘It’s bittersweet… I am devastated and beyond words.
‘I lost Amelia and I lost Carly and the two boys lost their mother and sister and each other.
‘I have lost my life.
‘I think it is the right verdict and the judge was decent and kind. He has done the right thing.
‘I’ve gone beyond tears. She is my daughter and I am devastated and I have lost my daughter.
‘All because one doctor wouldn’t take 10 minutes to talk to her.’
Mrs Harris added: ‘She is not a monster. She is the salt of the earth.’