London: A 33-year-old Indian-origin woman, who had earlier admitted to killing her 10-year-old daughter at their home in a town in the West Midlands region of England, was on Friday sentenced to an indefinite hospital order over her mental health concerns.
Jaskirat Kaur, also known as Jasmine Kang, had been charged with the murder of Shay Kang on March 4 when West Midlands Police said the girl had been found with injuries at an address in the town of Rowley Regis and pronounced dead at the scene.
Kaur denied murder and went on to plead guilty to her daughter's manslaughter on the basis of diminished responsibility at Wolverhampton Crown Court. She has now been sentenced to a hospital order in a secure facility for an indefinite period after reports related to her mental health were submitted in court.
“This is a harrowing case for everyone involved. Kaur suffered a mental health episode at the time of the attack which led to her daughter’s death,” Detective Inspector Dan Jarratt from the West Midlands Police Homicide department said in a statement.
“Shay was a young girl with her whole life ahead of her. She has been described as a bright and happy child. Her death has had a profound impact on those who knew her as well as the wider community and our thoughts remain with everyone who loved her,” he said.
Kang was found dead at the home she shared with her mother on Robin Close after Kaur called emergency services to report the death. Officers arrived at the scene on March 4 and arrested the mother, who admitted to stabbing Shay the previous night. Following a forensic post-mortem, it was found Shay was stabbed multiple times on the chest.
Brickhouse Primary School, where Shay was a pupil, issued a statement at the time to say the school was deeply saddened by the tragic death of Shay, "a bright, happy, fun-loving child who was well liked by all." Tributes including toys, cards and balloons poured in and some parents of children who attended the same school had set up an online Go Fund Me fundraiser to collect money for Shay's funeral.
The fundraiser read: “As you may be aware she had no family except her mum. The purpose of this is to come together as a community to help raise funds for her funeral and to also help with flowers, head stone etc.
“She didn’t deserve this at all and the best we can do is make sure she flys (sic) high in the most beautiful way.”