‘SHE WANTS HER FREEDOM’ — MUM CONVICTED OVER BABY DAUGHTER’S DEATH LAUNCHES BID TO OVERTURN CONVICTION

A Scottish mother convicted over the death of her three-month-old daughter has launched a legal bid to overturn both her conviction and six-year prison sentence.

Courtney Gartshore, 28, was convicted of culpable homicide after a jury found that she had subjected her infant daughter, Dahlia-Rose, to “significant and sustained heat” from a hairdryer in September 2023.

She was sentenced to six years in prison at the High Court in Edinburgh on August 14, after being convicted unanimously by a jury following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen.

Now, just weeks after receiving her sentence, Gartshore has formally notified the courts that she intends to appeal both the conviction and the punishment imposed on her.

THE NIGHT THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING

The case dates back to September 30, 2023, when emergency services were called to Gartshore’s home on King Street in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

Dahlia-Rose was only three months old.

According to evidence summarized by the sentencing judge, Gartshore had spent the previous evening socializing with friends and neighbors and had consumed a significant amount of alcohol.

She did not return home until around 4 a.m., while still having sole responsibility for her infant daughter.

At some point between approximately 4 a.m. and 9 a.m., Dahlia-Rose was subjected to prolonged heat from a hairdryer.

The court heard that the infant suffered burns covering around 18 percent of her body, including areas of her head, face, neck, upper body and right arm.

Experts disagreed over the precise medical circumstances surrounding the baby’s final moments.

The prosecution’s expert view was that hyperthermia and heatstroke were the likely causes of death, while a defense expert argued that Dahlia-Rose may already have died from another sudden and unexplained cause.

But the jury rejected that defense position.

The sentencing judge said jurors had “clearly and emphatically” concluded that the heat from the hairdryer caused Dahlia-Rose’s death.

WHY THE JUDGE GAVE SIX YEARS

Judge Simon Collins KC described the case as “uniquely disturbing and distressing.”

But he also made an important distinction.

The prosecution had not alleged that Gartshore intended to harm or kill her daughter.

Instead, the conviction was for culpable homicide arising from what the court considered a high degree of carelessness or gross recklessness.

The judge said the evidence suggested Gartshore must have switched on the hairdryer, positioned it close to Dahlia-Rose and left it operating for a prolonged period.

He said the infant’s suffering should have been obvious during that time.

The court identified several aggravating factors, including Dahlia-Rose’s extremely young age and complete dependence on her mother.

Gartshore had also been drinking, which the judge said may have contributed to what happened.

The judge further criticized her actions after the incident, saying she moved Dahlia-Rose from the bedroom to the balcony before emergency services arrived and denied knowing how the baby had been injured.

The court also found that Gartshore had not yet demonstrated genuine remorse.

At the same time, the judge acknowledged mitigating circumstances, including that Gartshore had no previous convictions, was a young single mother and had a history of poor mental health and limited support.

She had also attempted suicide after Dahlia-Rose’s death.

NOW SHE IS FIGHTING THE VERDICT

Despite the unanimous jury verdict, Gartshore is now seeking to challenge what happened in court.

Her legal team has lodged an “intimation of intention to appeal” with the High Court of Appeal in Edinburgh.

That means the appeal process has formally begun.

She has until October 20 to submit the relevant papers setting out the grounds for the challenge.

At this stage, there is no indication that the appeal has been successful or that her conviction has been overturned.

For now, the six-year sentence remains in place.

A CASE THAT HAS SHOCKED SCOTLAND

The case has continued to attract intense public attention because of the age and vulnerability of Dahlia-Rose.

The sentencing judge described the death as both “tragic” and “terrible,” while noting that the evidence suggested Gartshore had loved her daughter.

But he stressed that the circumstances represented a serious failure of the most basic parental duty — protecting a completely dependent child from harm.

The appeal will now raise another major question:

Was the original conviction legally sound, and was six years the appropriate sentence?

Those questions will ultimately be determined through Scotland’s appeal process.

Until a higher court rules otherwise, however, Gartshore remains convicted of culpable homicide and continues to serve her six-year sentence.

And behind the legal battle remains the tragedy at the center of the case — the death of a three-month-old baby whose life ended in circumstances that have left a community deeply shaken.