A woman who allegedly confessed to killing her 15-month-old daughter has been granted bail after she pleaded guilty to the charge of infanticide, Fairfax Media reported. Earlier this month, the prosecutor agreed to withdraw the murder charge.
24-year-old Sofina Nikat has been awaiting trial after being charged with murder following the discovery of the body of her daughter, Sanaya Sahib from a creek in Melbourne’s north in April last year.
Nikat first falsely told the police that a man of African appearance snatched Sanaya from her. Later the police told a magistrate she had confessed to killing her daughter.
7 News reported prosecutor Kerri Judd QC told the Victorian Supreme Court that Nikat took her daughter to a park in Heidelberg and covered her airways until the infant stopped moving.
"She put her hand over her mouth so as to block the airway," Ms Judd said. "She continued to apply pressure until Sanaya could not breathe anymore. She then rolled her body into the creek."
Her family members who were assisting the police in the search found Sanaya’s body in a creek the next day.
"She thought her baby was possessed," Ms Judd said.
She said a psychologist found Nikat was suffering from a depressive illness as a result of giving birth to Sanaya.
Defence barrister Christopher Dane QC said Nikat had been a victim of domestic violence and was unable to cope living in a refuge with no financial or family support.
He said Nikat has been in custody for 18 months, and that she did not apply for bail because "there was nowhere to go".
Nikat pleaded guilty on Friday to a lesser charge of infanticide which carries a maximum punishment of five years. Mr Dane called for 12-months community corrections order for her, the ABC reported. But prosecutor Ms Judd demanded a jail sentence.
Justice Lasry will sentence Nikat at a later date.
