Mother stabbed four-year-old son to death hours after school pick-up, court told
Officers found Kobi Dooly-Macharia cold to the touch in his cot with dozens of knife wounds, Inner London Crown Court heard on Monday
A mother killed her four-year-old son by stabbing him dozens of times hours after collecting the boy from school, a court has heard.
Officers found Kobi Dooly-Macharia cold to the touch in his cot with dozens of knife wounds, Inner London Crown Court heard on Monday.
There were also signs of attempted strangulation, the court heard.
Court artist drawing of Keziah Macharia, was charged with murder but has been deemed unfit to stand trial (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
Keziah Macharia, 43, has been charged with murdering Kobi on or about December 20 2023 but she has been deemed unfit to stand trial.
Mrs Justice Thornton said there should be a 'fact-finding hearing' to decide if Macharia killed Kobi but not if she murdered him.
She told jurors not to 'consider her state of mind and whether she is at fault', which would be needed for a murder verdict.
Ben Dooly and Macharia started a relationship after meeting in 2018 and their son Kobi was born on September 21 2019, prosecutor Mukul Chawla KC said.
The couple lived together with Kobi in Macharia's first-floor flat in Montague Road, Hackney, but the relationship deteriorated after his birth, he added.
Mr Dooly moved out and started sleeping on the sofa two or three days a week but this ended after he met his current girlfriend, Sasha Sasheva, the court heard.
Four-year-old Kobi Dooly-Macharia (Met Police/PA)
News in 90 seconds - 12th May 2025
Macharia was 'very unhappy' with Kobi spending any time with Ms Sasheva, Mr Chawla said, adding that Ms Sasheva blocked Macharia on her phone and on social media because of messages she received.
Mr Dooly last saw Kobi alive at his school nativity play the day before the alleged attack, jurors heard.
CCTV played to the court shows Macharia collecting her son from Nightingale Primary School, Hackney, by car at around 4.30pm on December 20.
Kobi could be seen leaving the building wearing a coat and carrying a red balloon, accompanied by Macharia.
'You see nothing of distress or anything out of the ordinary in terms of her demeanour', the prosecutor said.
He added: 'It appears that at some point that evening the defendant started drinking alcohol; when she started drinking and how much she drank cannot be established'.
The court heard that at 10.42pm Macharia sent a WhatsApp message to Mr Dooly that said: 'Hi Ben, good Luck with the biteme_cups five days before Xmas!
'I hope you and Sasha enjoy your lives together. I can't live knowing that she'll have the same surname as my son Kobi, and I will not be in your life anymore. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Goodbye x'
Bite Me cups was Mr Dooly's recently established business, the prosecutor added.
Macharia then messaged Ms Sasheva's phone and said 'this is all your fault' and 'you will never have the same surname as my son', the court heard.
At 10.48pm, Macharia sent Mr Dooly WhatsApp messages less than a minute apart that said 'Kobi is dead' and 'you can thank Sasha for that', the prosecution said.
The pair contacted the police with Mr Dooly reporting he had just been told by the mother of his child that his son is dead, jurors were told.
Body-worn footage showed officers repeatedly banging on the door, ringing the bell, and shouting without receiving a response before they broke the door in.
Jurors were shown footage of Macharia in blood-stained clothes sitting on the living room floor in front of the sofa.
As officers arrived, she moved to a kneeling position and during her arrest, a knife could be seen behind her.
Police were heard asking 'who did this?' and Mr Chawla said 'she raises her hand to her chest, acknowledging it was her'.
Officers documented her saying she tried to take an overdose and harm herself, the prosecutor added.
Kobi was found in the bedroom, in his cot next to a double bed.
He was pronounced dead at 12.06am on December 21.
Macharia was taken to Stoke Newington Police station and had 'a very blunted muted affect' and intermittently sobbed, Mr Chawla said.
'She told officers repeatedly she just wanted her baby back, and she just wanted to see his sweet face', he added.
The case continues.
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