Mum's web of lies after killing baby with scissors ended with her dying in jail
An evil mum who murdered her newborn child with a pair of scissors spun a stomach-churning web of lies to try and get away with the killing – and has now died in prison.
Rachel Tunstill secretly gave birth to daughter Mia Kelly but stabbed her 14 times in the bathroom while her unsuspecting boyfriend of nine years, Ryan Kelly played computer games in the room next door.
Mr Kelly was left guilt-ridden when Tunstill told him she was having a miscarriage and to pass her the scissors in January 2017. The twisted mother then placed Mia's body in a plastic bag, inside another bag and dumped it in the kitchen bin. She then went back to the bathroom to clean up the blood and left it spotless.
Tunstill, who was a university masters graduate in forensic psychology, told Mr Kelly, who thought she was only a few weeks pregnant, that she had miscarried. But Mia was born full-term baby weighing six to seven pounds. The 'remorseless' mother spent the evening watching television while Mr Kelly played on his Xbox at the flat they shared in Burnley.
Tunstill was a university masters graduate in forensic psychology (Andrew Chamberlain)The court heard how police only discovered Mia's body in the bin two days later, when Tunstill visited Burnley General Hospital for a check-up. A nurse found she was still carrying the baby's umbilical chord and placenta.
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In the first of what would swiftly become a complicated and interconnected web of lies, Tunstill falsely claimed she had miscarried while nine weeks pregnant but medics realised that was untrue. She then claimed Mia had been born lifeless and admitted what she had done with the body. But Mia was born alive but died after being stabbed in the back, neck and chest.
Tunstill was twice jailed for life for the murder of her daughter Mia Kelly. Her original conviction for the murder of Mia was quashed by the Court of Appeal after judges ruled lesser charges should have been considered.
But she was found guilty again in February 2019, after a seven-week re-trial and was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 17 years in 2019. During the trial Mr Kelly said that he suffered nightmares in which he ran to the bathroom to try to save Mia.
Rachel Tunstill has died in prison (PA)During sentencing, Judge Mr Justice King, said that the circumstances of the killing on January 14, 2017, were "particularly harrowing". He added: "She showed no emotion or remorse for stabbing her baby to death. "This must have been a sustained and frenzied attack on a victim who because of her age was particularly vulnerable. Her duty to her newborn baby was to cradle and comfort her - not to stab her to death. There was here in my judgement concealment of the body, albeit short-lived and in addition there was undoubtedly the indignity which was wrought upon the body by disposing of it in the way she did."
The Prison Service confirmed that Tunstill, who was housed at HMP Styal in Cheshire, died on 1 August. A spokesperson said: "HMP Styal prisoner Rachel Tunstill died in custody on 1 August 2023. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate." The circumstances around the death are currently unknown. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman has been approached for a comment.
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