A Coventry University student has been found guilty of murder for hiding her newborn baby in a cereal box inside a suitcase. Jia Xin Teo, a 22-year-old from Malaysia, concealed her pregnancy and gave birth in the bathroom of her student accommodation.
The court heard that Teo gave birth to a full-term baby girl on March 4. She placed the living infant in a cereal box, which she then sealed in a plastic bag and put inside a suitcase. Prosecutor David Mason KC stated that Teo later informed police that the baby was still moving when she put her in the box.
Teo hid her pregnancy and did not seek help after giving birth. A university friend forced entry into her room, finding her bed “covered in blood.” Despite this, Teo refused to leave the bathroom. When an ambulance arrived, she declined medical assistance, prompting paramedics to leave. She eventually took a taxi to the hospital when her condition worsened.
At the hospital, Teo denied giving birth, but when a pregnancy test came back positive, police were called to investigate the welfare of her baby. Two days later, Teo confessed and revealed the location of her infant. The baby was discovered in the suitcase that her flatmates had moved earlier.
Teo explained that she was afraid her family and friends in Malaysia would find out about the birth, which she said impacted her studies. She also claimed to have heard voices telling her to dispose of the child.
James Leslie Francis from the Crown Prosecution Service remarked, “Baby Teo was alive after birth and could have survived, but Jia Xin Teo made the decision to place her inside a cereal box knowing that it would kill her. She lied to friends, doctors, and police to hide her baby. She did not tell police where she hid the infant until two days had passed, by which time the baby was certainly dead.”
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