A teaching assistant who drowned her two-year-old daughter in a pond on a Hampshire common while suffering from postpartum psychosis has been jailed for four years. Alice Mackey, 42, pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility at Winchester Crown Court.
The court heard that Mackey believed killing her daughter Annabel was an act of mercy, driven by the delusion that she was a bad mother and that the child needed protection from her. After the drowning, she returned home, dialled 999 and falsely claimed Annabel had been abducted.
Mr Justice Saini described it as a tragic case, noting Mackey had been mentally unwell since Annabel's birth. He said she had been remorseful and had made progress in prison. Mackey's barrister, Patrick Gibbs KC, said she had suffered five years of miscarriages and IVF treatment before Annabel's birth, and that motherhood 'plunged her into darkness'.
Mackey was diagnosed with postpartum psychosis and had previously been detained under the Mental Health Act. She stopped taking antidepressants in January 2023 and drowned her daughter in September. Gibbs told the court she would never have another child and had lost her family and vocation.
In a victim impact statement, Annabel's father described the torment of his daughter's suffering and the guilt of not being there to protect her. He said her future had been 'stolen'. The judge said: 'There are no winners in these situations. I just hope Miss Mackey can in the future lead a useful life.'
