Murder charge mother in bail plea

A British woman accused of killing her newborn baby while on holiday in Crete is to appeal against a decision to hold her in custody until the trial.

Leah Andrew's lawyer said she believed the baby was dead when it was born and took "some measures to help the child".

The 20-year-old from south London, who denies a charge of murder, fainted at the end of a six-hour court hearing on Thursday, when she was remanded.

Police found the dead baby in a hotel room on the Greek island on Monday.

Ms Andrew's lawyer, Zoe Lama, said her client would contest the charge of murder and disputed the facts presented by the prosecution.

"My daughter did not kill her child. I cannot say (what happened) because I was not there, but what they are accusing her of doing I don't think she did"
Isaac Andrew
Leah Andrew's father

"She denied the allegation by saying that she believed that the child was dead when it was born and that she took some measures to help the child."

Ms Lama said the trial was unlikely to take place for another 12 months.

Mentally "not good"

Ms Andrew was taken to hospital after the court hearing in Crete's capital Heraklion.

Ms Lama said her client was released after tests and spent the night in a police holding cell.

She said Ms Andrew, now being held in prison in Crete, was mentally "not good" and had been asking to see her dead baby.

"She has the right to appeal so that custody is replaced by other restrictions. We are thinking about what our next actions will be.

"We don't want her to be in prison until the trial."

Another hearing at the court is likely to take place next week.

Ms Lama said the murder charge would "definitely" be changed to infanticide by the time of the trial.

Murder can carry a life sentence, but the maximum sentence for infanticide is 20 years.

Family support

Ms Andrew's father Isaac and an aunt have travelled to Crete and have been able to visit her.

Mr Andrew said he and his wife had known their daughter was pregnant for about two months and that she had wanted to keep the baby.

"My daughter did not kill her child. I cannot say [what happened] because I was not there, but what they are accusing her of doing I don't think she did," Mr Andrew said.

A coroner has said the baby boy was discovered wrapped in sheets and showed signs of suffocation.

Ms Andrew had been on a night out with her 24-year-old sister, Lydia, and a friend, before returning to the hotel room in Malia alone at about 0330 local time, where she gave birth.

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