Scottish woman convicted of killing three-month-old daughter with hair dryer

Courtney Gartshore, a 28-year-old woman from Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, has been convicted of the murder of her three-month-old daughter, Dalia-Rose, by the High Court in Aberdeen. The infant died in September 2023 after being subjected to intense and prolonged heat from a hair dryer. Medical findings presented in court showed that the child sustained burns covering 18% of her body, and DNA evidence linked the baby to the hair dryer. During the trial, it was revealed that the defendant had consumed alcohol prior to the incident. Prosecutors noted that the mother and child were the only individuals present in the home at the time, leaving Gartshore as the sole person who could have operated the device. The defendant initially denied the charges and claimed in an emergency call that her child had turned purple while she was sleeping. However, the court ruled her actions to be reckless and culpable, leading to the murder conviction.