Woman who smothered baby son to death with clingfilm in Aberdeenshire and dumped body in bag jailed

A mother who killed her infant son by smothering him with clingfilm has been sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison.

Ineta Dzinguviene placed the wrap over the nose and mouth of Paulius Dzingus hours after he was born in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire on April 12, 2010.

The 38-year-old was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow.

She had previously pled guilty at a hearing in Edinburgh to a charge of culpable homicide based on diminished responsibility.

In 2011, Dzinguviene was jailed for life and ordered to serve a minimum 15 years in jail after being found guilty of the murder of Paulius.

But, the conviction was later quashed by appeal judges following fresh evidence over her state of mind which emerged after psychotherapy work while in Cornton Vale prison in Stirlingshire.

A fresh prosecution was allowed before Dzinguviene pled guilty to the reduced charge last month.

Lady Poole told her: “You are now 38 years old and have had a very difficult life.

“Although your culpability at the time was diminished by your mental state, the harm you caused was extreme.

“You took the life of your son. He was a newborn baby and you deprived him of his life.

“After you killed him, you hid his body in a bag amongst rubbish in the common stairway where you lived.

“Killing a defenceless baby cannot be tolerated and you must be punished for what you did.”

The jail-term was cut from ten years due to the guilty plea and will be backdated to April 2010 when Dzinguviene was first remanded in custody.

It means she has effectively served the sentence, but she faces being deported to her homeland of Lithuania to serve a 15-year jail term imposed for murdering three-day old daughter Paulina in the country in 2009.

Dzinguviene had moved to Scotland with her husband and three children after killing Paulina.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice KC told the hearing last month: “Both babies were healthy at birth.

“The cause of death of each was asphyxiation.

“Paulius through the use of clingfilm applied to the nose and mouth – Paulina by way of a plastic bag.

“Both bodies were subsequently concealed in suitcases or travel bags.”

The advocate depute told how the conviction for murdering her son was set aside in March 2023 on basis diminished responsibility may have been present.

Mr Prentice said: “She has now admitted killing her child although she has no memory of what happened.”

The court was told the mum has now been diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder and “battered woman syndrome”.

Her lawyer Ann Ogg said: “It is clear at the time she was a young woman in a foreign country and had suffered previous trauma in both child and adulthood.

“She felt she had no assistance compounded by symptoms of complex post traumatic stress disorder.”

Ms Ogg added Dzinguviene “acknowledges what she has done, but has no recollection”.