Mother jailed for killing baby by burning her with a hairdryer

A mother who killed her baby daughter by burning her with a hairdryer has been jailed for six years.

Courtney Gartshore, 28, used the appliance to subject three-month-old Dahlia-Rose to “significant and sustained heat” on her head and body.

Emergency services were called to the scene at a property in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, in September 2023, but the child had died.

Gartshore was convicted of culpable homicide – the closest equivalent to manslaughter in Scots Law – following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen in July.

Sentencing Gartshore at the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Simon Collins KC told her, external she had inflicted “severe and disfiguring” burns on her daughter.

He said: “Given Dahlia-Rose’s very young age, and the horrifying way that she died, this is a uniquely disturbing and distressing case.

“But it is tragic as well as terrible. And that is because the evidence suggested that the accused loved Dahlia-Rose, yet will have to live the rest of her life with the knowledge that she was responsible for her death.”

Gartshore appeared via videolink at the 25-minute hearing, during which she sobbed and wiped away tears.

The judge said the baby’s death was not the culmination of repeated instances of neglect or abuse over a period of weeks or months.

But he told the first offender she was responsible for a “gross aberration” from what was a “mostly satisfactory” standard of care.

Judge Collins also said the Crown’s expert position was that Dahlia-Rose died from hypothermia and heat stroke, rather than burns.

Gartshore’s defence lawyer Murray Macara called it a “truly tragic and distressing case”.

Since she was taken into custody, Macara said Gartshore has spent approximately 23 hours a day in her cell, which he said is to ensure her own safety and protection.

He said Gartshore had a history of childhood trauma, mental health problems, overdoses and self-harm, but argued that she had provided appropriate care to her baby up until the night of her death.

Gartshore maintained that she has no recollection of using the hairdryer on her baby.

Macara said that he could not provide a reasonable or compelling explanation for why Gartshore used the hairdryer on her baby, but he speculated that it was “culpably and recklessly” used as a source of heat.

The court heard that Gartshore used the hairdryer on Dahlia-Rose for up to an hour, resulting in burns to approximately 18% of her body surface – particularly to her head, neck, upper body and one of her arms.

The jury was spared having to see photos of the injuries.

Macara said the injuries were “severe and disfiguring” but evidence showed they were likely “survivable”.

Gartshore appeared in court via video link wearing a navy prison uniform. She cried and was visibly emotional throughout the sentencing.

During the trial her defence argued the baby may have already been dead before the burn injuries, but a jury took just over an hour to return the guilty verdict.

The jury heard that Gartshore had consumed alcohol before the incident.

The jury was played a recording of a 999 call made by Gartshore in which she said her child had gone “purple” while she was asleep.

The trial heard that the infant’s DNA was found on a hairdryer.

However expert witness Dr Timothy Burge, a burns specialist, told the court that it was his view the heat injuries did not cause the baby’s death.

“It could have been that she was already dead,” he said.

Gartshore was unanimously found guilty of culpably and recklessly causing Dahlia-Rose to be subjected to heat from the appliance while the child was in her sole care.

The charge stated that Dahlia-Rose’s injuries were so severe that she died as a result.

Speaking after the conviction, Det Insp James Callander said: “Children are defenceless and should be protected.

“The death of any child is particularly harrowing, but a child’s death at the hands of a parent is incredibly disturbing.

“Everyone involved in this investigation was deeply affected by the circumstances of Dahlia-Rose’s death, but our job is to uncover the truth and ensure that the person responsible is brought to justice.”