Mother 'had no mental disorder'

Joanne Hill drowned her daughter Naomi in the bath

A forensic psychiatrist has told a court he could find no evidence of severe mental illness at the time a mother killed her daughter.

Joanne Hill, 32, admits killing Naomi, four, at their home in Connah's Quay, Flintshire, but denies murder due to diminished responsibility.

The jury at Chester Crown Court was told the advertising saleswoman could function at work and was organised.

Earlier another expert told the court Ms Hill could disconnect her emotions.

The prosecution says Ms Hill killed her daughter because she could not cope with her mild cerebral palsy which caused her walking and slight hearing difficulties.

The court has heard how she drowned the youngster in the bath by holding her head under the water for 10 minutes on 26 November last year after collecting her from a childminder.

She then drove around with her dead daughter and a bottle of wine in the car for eight hours before carrying her into a local hospital, shouting for help.

It would be obvious to anyone who knew that person that they weren't right Dr Paul Chesterman, consultant forensic psychiatrist

Dr Paul Chesterman, a consultant forensic psychiatrist who had examined Ms Hill and read statements from people she had met and talked to before and after the killing, told the jury her actions did not suggest a mental disorder at the time of the killing.

He said there were usually obvious signs to mental illness, which he would normally expect to be prevalent and persistent in a patient for a two-week period before diagnosing a depressive disorder, but he found no evidence for this.

Talking about the warning signs that someone was becoming depressed, he said: "As you move into depressive disorder you lose that ability to cheer up.

"It would be obvious to anyone who knew that person that they weren't right."

Although Ms Hill had displayed some symptoms - including some lack of sleep - this could be put down to other factors such as her heavy drinking.

Naomi suffered from mild cerebral palsy

He said on the Thursday before Naomi was killed Ms Hill went out, got drunk and had sex with a workmate.

He said the fact Ms Hill was enjoying a night out and at times seemed cheerful was "completely incompatible with a diagnosis of clinical depression".

He said it did not follow that a mother had to be mentally ill to kill a child.

He told the court: "The jury will be familiar with the case of Dr Harold Shipman. Clearly there was something unusual about him but he wasn't suffering from an identifiable mental illness."

Later, he added: "It's an unusual thing for a woman to kill her child. Does it follow though that there must be a mental disorder of some kind? In my experience, unequivocally, no."

Dr Chesterman told the court people with severe clinical depression would not be able to perform at work and were "unable" to share a joke with anyone.

The court heard Hill had been at work the day that Naomi died and had shared a joke with a member of staff at a petrol station after Naomi was drowned.

The court also heard more evidence from defence witness, consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Aideen O'Halloran, who believed Ms Hill was, and is, suffering from a mental illness.

She said Ms Hill was "dis-associated" and often disconnected from her emotions. Her symptoms were so unusual that Ms Hill appeared an enigma, the court heard.

Hill was also assessed by a doctor after her arrest who concluded that at the time the mother had moderate to severe depression.

The case continues.