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| Jailed mother Lesley Dunford given 13 years for baby murder | Jailed mother Lesley Dunford given 13 years for baby murder |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A jailed mother is to serve at least 13 years in prison for murdering her baby son, six months before she killed her three-year-old daughter. | A jailed mother is to serve at least 13 years in prison for murdering her baby son, six months before she killed her three-year-old daughter. |
| Harley Dunford was found dead in his cot at their East Sussex home in 2003, the Old Bailey heard. | |
| Lesley Dunford, 37, formerly of Windermere Close, Exeter, pleaded guilty to his murder in March after changing her plea twice. | Lesley Dunford, 37, formerly of Windermere Close, Exeter, pleaded guilty to his murder in March after changing her plea twice. |
| She was jailed for seven years in 2012 for killing her daughter Lucy in 2004. | She was jailed for seven years in 2012 for killing her daughter Lucy in 2004. |
| Dunford admitted in jail to murdering seven-month-old Harley at the house in Camber, on 27 August 2003. | |
| In her confession she wrote: "Something clicked in me... I pushed his face into the mattress until he stopped breathing." | In her confession she wrote: "Something clicked in me... I pushed his face into the mattress until he stopped breathing." |
| Jailing Dunford for life with a minimum term of 13 years, Mr Justice Baker said: "The reality is, had you not confessed to killing Harley whilst in custody, it is highly likely there would not have been a police investigation into his death and you would not have faced prosecution for murder." | |
| Husband 'forgives her' | |
| No inquest was held into Harley's death at the time as he was believed to have died from natural causes. | |
| In a statement following the sentencing, Dunford's husband Wayne said he "forgives her". | |
| The jury in the 2012 trial into the killing of Lucy was told Dunford had epilepsy but had not been diagnosed with any psychiatric or autistic problems. | |
| After she was convicted of the three-year-old's manslaughter, Sussex Police said Harley's death was fully investigated at the time and there were no plans to re-open the case. | |
| Detectives started a new investigation into how the seven-month-old boy died in June 2014 after she wrote a confession in prison. |