The Court of Appeal in Gdańsk upheld the verdict sentencing Natalia Z. to two years in prison for the murder of her daughter. This happened after giving birth in July 2019 in Witków. The case of the newborn's grandmother, who was accused of aiding and abetting murder and acquitted by the court of first instance, was withdrawn for retrial.
The trial in the case of the murder of a newborn baby, which occurred in July 2019 in Witkowo, ended on Wednesday (November 13) at the Court of Appeal in Gdańsk. The defendants Natalia Z. (mother of the newborn) and Barbara G. (grandmother of the child) did not appear in the courtroom. There were no defenders either. The prosecutor of the Regional Prosecutor's Office in Gdańsk, Mariusz Marciniak, was present.
The judgment was read by the presiding judge, Sławomir Steniborn. He emphasized that the appeal court upheld the judgment of the District Court in Bydgoszcz from 2023, which sentenced 35-year-old Natalia Z. to two years in prison for the murder of a newborn.
However, the verdict in the case of the newborn's grandmother, Barbara G., who was acquitted by the District Court in Bydgoszcz of charges including: assistance in the murder of a child, the appellate court referred the case for reconsideration by the court of first instance.
The woman hid her pregnancy from her loved ones
In his justification, Judge-Rapporteur Sebastian Brzozowski recalled that Natalia Z. was accused of murdering the child, which she committed during childbirth under the influence of its course. The penalty is from three months to five years' imprisonment. He also pointed out that the necessary element to attribute responsibility for this act had been met, i.e. the mother committed the murder after giving birth and under the influence of its course.
He said that if this article is applied, the second element should also be met, i.e. after the birth of a child, a woman must have “strong emotions, agitation, a narrowed field of consciousness, excessive activity, depression, anxiety or a sense of hopelessness.”
He explained that “there must be a causal relationship between the mental state of the woman giving birth and her action to kill the child.
– And this raises doubts about the reality of this case – said Judge Brzozowski.
In its justification, the court stated that the prosecutor's appeal also indicated that Natalia G. hid this fact from her relatives and household members throughout her pregnancy, which – as the court pointed out – may indicate that the intention to kill the child had already appeared earlier and was not it was the result of childbirth, it was just planned.
The court emphasized that the appeal filed by the prosecutor concerned only the imposed penalty and the lack of a punitive measure. The prosecutor demanded that the sentence be increased to four years and six months of imprisonment and that compensation be imposed.
However, the prosecutor did not question the factual findings of the first-instance court in the remaining respects. As a rule, the appellate court hears the case within the limits of the appeal.
– In such a situation, when there was no need to conduct the evidentiary proceedings in its entirety, the court could not rule in relation to the accused (Natalia Z.) beyond the limits of the appeal and to the detriment of the charge, even though the assessment of the evidence indicates that there are doubts regarding attributing the act of aggravated murder to the accused – he said. He added that “a harsher ruling could not have been made.”
He emphasized that in this respect the court was obliged to uphold the contested judgment in the case of Natalia Z.
In turn, in the case of Barbara G., the appeal court – partially sharing the arguments in the appeal regarding the incorrect assessment of evidence by the District Court in Bydgoszcz – overturned the judgment. In the appeal, the prosecutor pointed out that Barbara G., the newborn's grandmother, who lived with Natalia Z., helped her kill the child.
The judgment in the case of Natalia Z. is final.
A dead newborn was found wrapped in a towel in a dresser
After the verdict was announced, prosecutor Mariusz Marciniak told journalists that in the case of Barbara G. and the re-referral of her case to the court of first instance, it was a “full victory for the prosecutor”. As for the verdict in the case of Natalia Z., he emphasized that the penalty of four years and six months of imprisonment requested by the prosecutor's office would be adequate and just.
The murder of a newborn baby occurred on July 20, 2019 in Witków, Sępolno County. The dead baby was found wrapped in a towel and hidden in a dresser. According to the prosecutor's findings, death was caused by a noose of a sheet being tied around the neck. The mother of the newborn, Natalia Z., was accused of murdering the newborn. The prosecutor's office also accused Barbara G., the mother of Natalia Z.'s partner, of assisting in the child's murder and submitting false testimony.
In March 2023, the District Court in Bydgoszcz sentenced Natalia Z. to two years in prison for the murder of a newborn baby and acquitted Barbara G.
According to the court of first instance, Natalia Z. “could not cope with the difficulties of childbirth.” In the justification for the verdict, Judge Andrzej Rumiński stated that “it was not a calculated murder.” He emphasized that in the case of postpartum shock, it cannot be considered premeditation.
– The mother is not a murderer, she is not a criminal person, she is not a very bad person, she simply cannot cope with giving birth, and under the influence of these hardships, she makes a bad decision – he said.
In turn, when acquitting Barbara G., the court indicated that she had no motives to take the child's life.
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