‘SHE WANTS HER FREEDOM’ — MUM WHO USED HAIRDRYER ON BABY DAUGHTER LAUNCHES BID TO OVERTURN CONVICTION

Courtney Gartshore has launched a legal bid to overturn both her conviction and six-year prison sentence — just weeks after a jury found her responsible for the death of her three-month-old daughter, Dahlia-Rose.

The 28-year-old was convicted of culpable homicide following a trial at the High Court in Aberdeen and was sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on August 14.

Now, court officials have confirmed that an intimation of appeal against both conviction and sentence has been lodged on Gartshore’s behalf, formally beginning the appeal process.

The move comes after a case that shocked Scotland.

Dahlia-Rose died at a property on King Street in Peterhead on September 30, 2023, while Gartshore was alone caring for her.

The court heard that the baby had been subjected to “significant and sustained heat” from a hairdryer directed at her head and body.

Experts concluded that the likely cause of death was hyperthermia and heatstroke.

The injuries were extensive, with burns affecting around 18 per cent of the infant’s body. The court heard that the hairdryer may have been used for up to an hour.

But even after the evidence emerged, one question remained at the center of the case:

Why did Gartshore use the hairdryer on her baby?

Her own legal team said there was no reasonable or compelling explanation for what happened.

One possibility raised in court was that Gartshore may have believed Dahlia-Rose was cold and attempted to use the appliance as a source of warmth.

But Gartshore herself maintained that she could not remember using the hairdryer on her daughter.

Forensic evidence became another crucial part of the prosecution case.

A forensic scientist told the jury that material containing Dahlia-Rose’s DNA was discovered on the nozzle of the hairdryer.

Gartshore’s DNA was also found there, although experts could not establish whether the nozzle had directly contacted the baby or a surface containing her biological material.

The investigation also uncovered disturbing conditions inside the Peterhead property.

During the trial, jurors were shown photographs of a bedroom where the baby’s cot was reportedly being used for storage rather than as a sleeping space.

Investigators described the property as cluttered and unkempt, with insects visible throughout the home and rubbish accumulated in parts of the house.

Dahlia-Rose was ultimately found inside a carrycot at the property.

Gartshore had been drinking before the incident and was the sole person responsible for caring for the infant at the time.

Emergency services were called to the property, but Dahlia-Rose was pronounced dead at the scene. Gartshore was later arrested and charged in November 2023.

At trial, she denied culpable homicide.

The jury ultimately rejected that defense.

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

He said Gartshore would have to live with the knowledge that she was responsible for her daughter’s death and described what happened as a gross breach of the basic duty expected of a parent.

The judge also said it should have been obvious that Dahlia-Rose was experiencing severe distress and pain.

Yet the six-year sentence has now become another legal battleground.

Gartshore is challenging not only the conviction itself but also the sentence imposed by the court.

Her legal team has begun the appeal process, with further documentation expected to set out the grounds for the challenge.

For now, the appeal does not mean Gartshore has been released or that her conviction has been overturned.

It means her lawyers are asking the appeal court to reconsider the outcome.

And behind the legal fight is the little girl at the center of the case.

Dahlia-Rose was only three months old.

Her life ended inside the Peterhead home in September 2023.

Nearly three years later, the case has already gone from police investigation, to trial, to conviction and imprisonment.

Now it is entering another chapter.

Gartshore wants the conviction overturned.

She wants the sentence challenged.

And ultimately, her legal team is seeking a different outcome from the courts.

But until an appeal court rules otherwise, the conviction and six-year sentence remain in place.