RACHEL COWLEY JAILED FOR DROWNING DAUGHTER ISABELLE
A mother who drowned her daughter after attending the birth of her lover's baby to another woman has been jailed for five and a half years.Rachel Cowley, 43, of Shenval, Glenurquhart, cut the baby's umbilical cord at Raigmore Hospital in February.
She then walked off with her own child, Isabelle, and drowned her in a burn.
Cowley was due to be sentenced on Wednesday but she refused to leave a psychiatric clinic with security staff tasked with taking her to court.
At the High Court in Edinburgh, judge Lord Bannatyne told Cowley that what had happened was "a dreadful tragedy" and she had deprived her daughter of her life at "such an early age".
He told her he would have jailed her for eight years for the killing, but it would be reduced following her guilty plea.
Lord Bannatyne also ordered that Cowley should be kept under supervision for a further four and a half years when she can be returned to prison if she reoffends.
The judge said he took into consideration a risk assessment, adding: "It states the risk of reoffending and causing harm is high and you present a real danger to any child of a future union." Lord Bannatyne said he understood Cowley had looked after Isabelle well and was "a loving and caring parent" but it was a very serious offence.
Cowley pleaded guilty to culpable homicide in July.
She was charged with murder, but the Crown accepted her plea to the reduced charge on the basis of diminished responsibility.
