Mother jailed for killing baby by burning her with a hairdryer

Courtney Gartshore, 28, has been sentenced to six years in prison for the death of her three-month-old daughter, Dahlia-Rose, after allegedly using a hairdryer to burn her. Emergency services were called to the property in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, in September 2023, but it was too late to save the infant. Gartshore was found guilty of culpable homicide, the closest equivalent to manslaughter in Scots law, following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen in July.

Judge Simon Collins KC described the case as "uniquely disturbing and distressing," highlighting the tragic nature of the incident and the severe burns Dahlia-Rose sustained, covering about 18% of her body. Gartshore's defence argued that the baby's death may have occurred before the burn injuries, but the jury found her guilty unanimously. The judge emphasized that Gartshore had a duty of care to her child and breached it profoundly.