Six years into her 17-year-long sentence for stabbing her baby with a pair of scissors, Rachel Tunstill dies in prison.
Back in 2017, she stabbed her baby girl, Mia Kelly, more than 15 times in the bathroom of their Burnley home and threw her lifeless body in a bin.
Tunstill was initially convicted of murder and handed a life sentence with minimum term of 20 years, but a re-trial proved the jury in the case should have been offered a verdict of infanticide to consider. During the re-trial she was once again convicted of murder and put behind bars for a minimum of 17 years.
“HMP Styal prisoner Rachel Tunstill died in custody on 1 August 2023. As with all deaths in custody, the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman will investigate,” a spokesperson from the Prison Service confirmed the news of her passing.
At the time she gave birth, her boyfriend was playing video games in the next room. She then told him she had a miscarriage and asked for the scissors after which she remorselessly stabbed the baby to death.
At the time of sentencing, the judge, Mr Justice King, said: “This must have been a sustained and frenzied attack on a victim who because of her age was particularly vulnerable. Her duty to her newborn baby was to cradle and comfort her – not to stab her to death.
“There was here in my judgement concealment of the body, albeit short-lived and in addition there was undoubtedly the indignity which was wrought upon the body by disposing of it in the way she did.”
Credit: Liverpool Echo
Tunstill was a university master’s graduate in forensic psychology.
“She showed no emotion or remorse for stabbing her baby to death,” said Mr Justice King.
After this situation, my life split into “before” and “after.”
The most frugal person in the world was my granddad. After he d!ed, he gave me a $30 gift card. I decided to use it rather than give it away for whatever reason. My life had periods before and after that incident. The checker’s face went white when I handed her the card. Cashier: Where did you acquire that? That’s not feasible.
Me: Well, It belonged to my grandfather. “STOP EVERYONE!” said the cashier. Our store has been holding a secret contest for ten years, and the winner is IN FRONT OF US! Telling the customer that the gift card was a unique promotional item with a million-dollar prize that had been unused for years made the cashier quite happy. The store manager walked over to confirm what I already knew to be true, and I stood there in disbelief. My grandpa’s “stingy” present became a fortune that abruptly altered my entire life and my prospects. The story’s lesson is that being a cheapskate implies you like to maximize every dollar. However, there are occasions when it feels good to treat the people you care about with your hard-earned cash. Spending a lot of money is not necessary. Giving them a treat or the lovely present they’ve always desired is a great way to let them know you care.
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