Supreme Court rejects Suure-Lähtru baby killing appeal
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to take into proceedings the appeal of a second tier circuit court conviction which found Kairi Kuusemaa guilty of killing her newborn infant in February 2024.
This means the circuit court decision imprisoning Kuusemaa for three years and nine months.
The appeal was filed by Kuusemaa's defense with the Supreme Court.
The circuit court found in May this year that Kuusemaa had been aware she was pregnant at least from December 2023, taking into account internet searches she had made and that the childbirth was not an unexpected event for her.
The circuit court had found that the accused had severed the newborn's umbilical cord, though Kuusemaa cannot be charged with killing the infant by causing blood loss from the severing of the cord; the court noted that the newborn developed respiratory failure due to Kuusemaa suffocating the baby.
The so-called Suure-Lähtru baby case was named after the location, a village in Lääne County, where the deceased infant was found.
On February 5, 2024, a family dog had brought the corpse of the newborn child into a farmyard, prompting the Police and Border Guard Board (PPA) to launch an extensive ground search to find the infant's mother.
By the time the mother's identity had been established, it was discovered that she had traveled to Morocco. Local authorities in Morocco arrested Kuusemaa in early March the same year. She was extradited back to Estonia in July 2024 and has been in custody in Estonia since then.
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Editor: Huko Aaspõllu, Andrew Whyte
