Rachel Tunstill, the mother who was serving a life sentence for the murder of her newborn baby, has died in prison. Tunstill had killed her daughter, Mia Kelly, by stabbing her with a pair of scissors in their Burnley, Lancashire home in 2017.
The horrifying incident unfolded in the bathroom of her home, where she then disposed of the scissors in the kitchen bin. She wrapped her baby’s body in plastic bags before placing it in the same bin. Tunstill was found guilty of murder and sentenced to a minimum of 20 years in June 2017 after a trial at Preston Crown Court. However, it was later suggested that she should have been tried for infanticide, leading to a retrial.
During the second trial, she was again found guilty of murder and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years. Tunstill gave birth to her daughter while her boyfriend was in the adjacent room playing computer games. She deceived him by claiming she was experiencing a miscarriage and asked him for scissors, which she then used to stab the newborn shortly after birth.
At the time of sentencing, Mr. Justice King described the attack as sustained and frenzied, targeting a particularly vulnerable victim due to her age. He emphasized that Tunstill’s duty as a mother was to care for and comfort her newborn, not to inflict harm.
As news of Rachel Tunstill’s death emerged, the Prison Service at HMP Styal in Cheshire, where she was serving her sentence, confirmed the occurrence. They stated that the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will conduct an investigation into her death, as is customary for all deaths in custody.
During her trial and sentencing, Tunstill showed no signs of emotion or remorse for her heinous actions. She had a university master’s degree in forensic psychology, which made the lack of empathy and remorse even more shocking.
The tragic case of Rachel Tunstill highlights the importance of addressing mental health issues, providing support to vulnerable individuals, and ensuring the safety and well-being of newborns and young children. The consequences of her actions have been devastating, and her death in prison marks the end of a deeply troubling chapter in this tragic story.
