Mother stabbed four-year-old son to death hours after school pick-up, court told

A mother killed her four-year-old son by stabbing him dozens of times hours after collecting the boy from school, a court has heard.

Officers found Kobi Dooly-Macharia cold to the touch in his cot with dozens of knife wounds, Inner London Crown Court heard on Monday.

There were also signs of attempted strangulation, the court heard.

Keziah Macharia, 43, has been charged with murdering Kobi on or about December 20 2023 but she has been deemed unfit to stand trial.

Mrs Justice Thornton said there should be a “fact-finding hearing” to decide if Macharia killed Kobi but not if she murdered him.

She told jurors not to “consider her state of mind and whether she is at fault”, which would be needed for a murder verdict.

Ben Dooly and Macharia started a relationship after meeting in 2018 and their son Kobi was born on September 21 2019, prosecutor Mukul Chawla KC said.

The couple lived together with Kobi in Macharia’s first-floor flat in Montague Road, Hackney, but the relationship deteriorated after his birth, he added.

Mr Dooly moved out and started sleeping on the sofa two or three days a week but this ended after he met his current girlfriend, Sasha Sasheva, the court heard.

Macharia was “very unhappy” with Kobi spending any time with Ms Sasheva, Mr Chawla said, adding that Ms Sasheva blocked Macharia on her phone and on social media because of messages she received.

Mr Dooly last saw Kobi alive at his school nativity play the day before the alleged attack, jurors heard.

CCTV played to the court shows Macharia collecting her son from Nightingale Primary School, Hackney, by car at around 4.30pm on December 20.

Kobi could be seen leaving the building wearing a coat and carrying a red balloon, accompanied by Macharia.

“You see nothing of distress or anything out of the ordinary in terms of her demeanour”, the prosecutor said.

He added: “It appears that at some point that evening the defendant started drinking alcohol; when she started drinking and how much she drank cannot be established”.

The court heard that at 10.42pm Macharia sent a WhatsApp message to Mr Dooly that said: “Hi Ben, good Luck with the biteme_cups five days before Xmas!

“I hope you and Sasha enjoy your lives together. I can’t live knowing that she’ll have the same surname as my son Kobi, and I will not be in your life anymore. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Goodbye x”

Bite Me cups was Mr Dooly’s recently established business, the prosecutor added.

Macharia then messaged Ms Sasheva’s phone and said “this is all your fault” and “you will never have the same surname as my son”, the court heard.

At 10.48pm, Macharia sent Mr Dooly WhatsApp messages less than a minute apart that said “Kobi is dead” and “you can thank Sasha for that”,  the prosecution said.

The pair contacted the police with Mr Dooly reporting he had just been told by the mother of his child that his son is dead, jurors were told.

The court also heard that Macharia at 10.49pm texted “Kobi is dead” to a WhatsApp group chat recently created by a woman called Reena Life.

Police attended the property at 10.59pm and body-worn footage showed officers repeatedly banging on the door, ringing the bell, and shouting without receiving a response.

Macharia and Ms Life were on a WhatsApp call as police hit the door outside, jurors were told.

During the call, Ms Life heard the buzzer go and the two women talked about police arriving, Mr Chawla said.

Ms Life made notes of the conversation that said the defendant admitted killing Kobi, according to the prosecutor.

At 11pm, after the call ended, Macharia texted Ms Sasheva saying “you bitch” and at 11.01pm messaged Mr Dooly to say “I hate iger both (sic)”, jurors heard.

Officers broke through the door and the prosecutor said: “While the police were entering and coming up the stairs we can see the message that Ms Macharia sent by text to Ms Sasheva.

“As they’re coming up the stairs there is another message, this time to Mr Dooly, you can tell it’s typed in haste – ‘I hate iger both’, she clearly meant ‘you both’.”

Jurors were shown footage of Macharia in blood-stained clothes sitting on the living room floor in front of the sofa.

As officers entered, she moved to a kneeling position and during her arrest, a knife could be seen behind her.

Police were heard asking “who did this?” and Mr Chawla said “she raises her hand to her chest, acknowledging it was her”.

Officers documented her saying she tried to take an overdose and harm herself, the prosecutor added.

Kobi was found in the bedroom, in his cot next to a double bed.

He was pronounced dead at 12.06am on December 21.

Macharia was taken to Stoke Newington Police station and had “a very blunted muted affect” and intermittently sobbed, Mr Chawla said.

“She told officers repeatedly she just wanted her baby back, and she just wanted to see his sweet face”, he added.

The only injuries that Macharia sustained were bruises consistent with her being arrested and placed in handcuffs, the prosecutor said.

The case continues.