In a tragic incident, Rachel Tunstill, 32, who was previously convicted of killing her newborn baby, was found dead in HMP Styal, Cheshire. She had been serving a life sentence for murdering her daughter, Mia Kelly, in 2017. Tunstill stabbed Mia with scissors and disposed of her body in her flat’s bin. Initially convicted of murder, her sentence was later changed to infanticide by an appeals court, but she was retried and found guilty again.
The cause of her prison death is under investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman. During the trials, it emerged that Tunstill, a psychology graduate and deputy manager, had autism and believed she was having a miscarriage. Disturbing internet searches and references to notorious killers were revealed. The judge called the murder a brutal attack on a vulnerable baby. The case highlights the need for mental health support and prevention measures to avoid such tragedies.
