Mitcham woman who killed her daughter given indefinite hospital order - BBC News
Five-year-old Sayagi Sivanantham was found fatally injured in her family home in south London.
An "exemplary mother" who killed her five-year-old daughter while suffering from undiagnosed depression has been given an indefinite hospital order.

Sayagi Sivanantham was discovered fatally wounded in a bedroom at her family home in Mitcham, south London, on 30 June 2020.

Her mother Sutha Sivanantham, 36, had earlier pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility.

Her husband said the pandemic lockdown may have affected her wellbeing.

Judge Wendy Joseph described the case as a "terrible tragedy".

In the months before the killing, Sivanantham was being treated by doctors for a number of physical ailments.

But the Old Bailey heard the mother-of-two had "an emerging mental illness" at the time, which was only diagnosed as severe depression with psychosis after she killed her daughter.

Judge Joseph said the defendant's mental illness had not been "not fully appreciated by anyone around her, including her doctors".

The court heard Sivanantham went on to develop a "morbid concern" that she was seriously ill and she became convinced she was going to die.

On the night before her daughter was killed, she asked her husband if he would take care of their children in the event she died, the Old Bailey was told.

She was found beside her daughter with self-inflicted injuries and she had to be treated for a number of months in hospital as a result.

She told doctors that on the day of the killing she felt as if she was asleep and dreaming, adding: "I didn't realise I was hurting her".

Sivanantham had originally been charged with murder but a plea of manslaughter by diminished responsibility was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

In a victim impact statement read to court, the girl's father said the family had enjoyed a "very happy, fulfilling and blissful life" before the killing, and his wife was "an exemplary mother who would do anything to nurture her children".

He added Covid restrictions may have had a negative impact on his wife's wellbeing and she had been petrified of catching the virus.

Sutha Sivanantham, who appeared in the dock with two nurses by her side, was sent for treatment at a psychiatric hospital indefinitely.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.