SHE WAS SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS — NOW COURTNEY GARTSHORE IS APPEALING THE CONVICTION THAT FOLLOWED HER BABY DAUGHTER’S DEATH

Courtney Gartshore was sentenced to six years in prison after a jury found her guilty of the culpable homicide of her three-month-old daughter, Dahlia-Rose.

Now, just weeks after being jailed, the Scottish mother has launched an appeal against both her conviction and her sentence — reopening a case that has already shocked the country.

But there is one crucial detail that remains unknown:

What exactly is Gartshore arguing was wrong with the original verdict?

THE DEATH OF THREE-MONTH-OLD DAHLIA-ROSE

Dahlia-Rose died on September 30, 2023, at a home on King Street in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.

According to evidence presented at trial, Gartshore had been alone with her three-month-old daughter after drinking.

The prosecution case was that the baby was exposed to “significant and sustained heat” from a hairdryer directed at her head and body.

The infant suffered extensive burns and fatal heat-related injuries.

Emergency services were called to the property, but Dahlia-Rose was pronounced dead at the scene.

THE JURY REJECTED HER CASE

Gartshore denied culpable homicide.

During the trial, she maintained that she had no memory of using the hairdryer on her daughter.

Her defence also explored the circumstances surrounding her mental health and what may have happened inside the home that morning.

But after hearing the evidence at the High Court in Aberdeen, the jury found her guilty of culpable homicide in July 2026.

She was subsequently sentenced at the High Court in Edinburgh on August 14 to six years in prison.

Judge Simon Collins KC described the circumstances as exceptionally disturbing and said Gartshore had committed a gross breach of the basic duty owed by a parent to a child.

NOW THE LEGAL BATTLE IS NOT OVER

On August 31, court officials confirmed that an intimation to appeal against both conviction and sentence had been lodged on Gartshore’s behalf.

That means the case has now entered another legal stage.

But the precise grounds for the appeal have not yet been made public.

A note of appeal is due to be lodged by October 20, according to Scottish court reporting.

That leaves a major question hanging over the case.

Is Gartshore challenging the evidence that led to her conviction?

Is she challenging the legal basis of the verdict?

Is she arguing that her six-year sentence was excessive?

Or will the appeal focus on another issue that has not yet been disclosed?

For now, those questions remain unanswered.

SIX YEARS — AND A CASE THAT REFUSES TO END

The appeal does not mean the conviction has been overturned.

Gartshore remains convicted of culpable homicide unless an appeal court rules otherwise.

And the death of Dahlia-Rose remains at the heart of the case.

A three-month-old baby died after being subjected to prolonged heat, while her mother was the only adult caring for her.

Now, after almost three years of investigation, a trial, a conviction and a six-year sentence, another legal chapter is beginning.

The public knows what the jury decided.

But it still does not know what Courtney Gartshore believes was wrong enough with that decision to challenge it.

And until her formal appeal grounds are made public, that may be the biggest unanswered question in the case.