Mother Admits Killing Three-Year-Old Son Mikaeel Kular

The mother of three-year-old Mikaeel Kular has pleaded guilty to killing her son.

Rosdeep Adekoya admitted assaulting and killing Mikaeel at the family home in Ferry Gait Crescent, Edinburgh.

She had originally been charged with murdering the toddler but admitted a reduced charge of culpable homicide at the High Court in Edinburgh.

Adekoya initially told police Mikaeel had gone missing from her home in January after he climbed up on a stool and let himself out of the front door. His body was later found around 25 miles away in woodland at Kirkcaldy, Fife.

She admitted to repeatedly punching her son and causing his body to hit against a hard object or inflicting blunt injuries on his head and body.

The 34-year-old also pleaded guilty to wrapping Mikaeel's body in a duvet cover, putting it in a suitcase and hiding the case in the woods behind a house.

The court heard that Mikaeel died on the night of Tuesday 14 January from injuries inflicted the two days previously.

She admitted to causing a major search for her son, involving the emergency services and hundreds of members of the public.

"I find it hard to love my son", "I love all of my children except one", "Why am I so aggressive with my son" and "Get rid of bruises" were found as internet searches on Adekoya's computer, the court heard.

Advocate depute Alex Prentice said: "The basis for the plea tendered being accepted is that the Crown accepts that the accused had no intention to kill Mikaeel and that the assault perpetrated upon him, although severe, fell short of the wicked recklessness required for murder."

Adeokoya "lost her temper" when her son was continually sick following a trip to a Nando's restaurant at the city's Fountain Park.

She smacked him and punched him in the head and body, the court heard.

When Mikaeel was sick for a third time, she dragged him to the shower by his arms and "beat him heavily" on his back as he lay over the bath edge.

Prentice said: "It's likely that the internal damage was inflicted during this last beating."

He was assaulted again the next day after being sick and became "listless".

His mother did not take him to a doctor because of the bruising, the court heard.

By Tuesday night, Mikaeel was said to be "quiet" and was giving a "limited" response to his mother's questions.

Prentice said: "He would have been in significant pain but was put to bed.

"The pain would have increased significantly while Mikaeel became dangerously ill and finally dying as a result of the injuries inflicted upon him by the accused.

"It was during that night that he died.

"The accused discovered his body on the floor when wakening the children in the morning."

After discovering her son's body, Adekoya took his twin sister to nursery before driving straight to Fife.

Prentice said: "At the time, it appears that the accused had placed Mikaeel's body in a suitcase and put him in the boot of her car."

She will be sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on 25 August.