'I wish I had never done it,' says Hannah Turtle who is accused of murdering her two-month-old son

A 22-year-old mother accused of murdering her seven-week-old son has gone on trial. Appearing before the Mold Crown Court, Hannah Turtle from Shotton, Wales regretted her move and told the jury "I wish I had never done it".

Turtle also told the jury that she needed help and had heard voices telling her that she did not deserve her son James Hughes, the BBC reported.

Although the mother denied murdering the infant, she accepted that she stopped her son James from breathing on three occasions within a ten-day period and even slipped an anti-depressant in his milk bottle.

The jury was told that 31 May 2016, Turtle had deliberately restricted her son's breathing. He was taken to hospital for treatment and after a day when he was discharged, she again deliberately suffocated him.

The baby was again taken to hospital on 9 June after his mother's action. The infant died from brain damage due to oxygen deprivation on 13 June 2016.

Prosecutor David Elias QC said Turtle was careful to ensure no-one witnessed her acts.

"The prosecution say that she knew what she was doing and she knew the serious harm she was causing her young son," Elias was quoted as saying by the BBC.

"We may never know why exactly she did this."

According to reports, Turtle told a social worker that she had killed his son after initially denying being responsible. She repeated the claim to a nurse and in a letter to police, the BBC report added.

The jury was told Turtle was refused permission to go to her son's funeral which took place on 22 September 2016. She had even made false allegations against her partner.

Turtle has pleaded not guilty to murder, three charges of ill-treatment and two of administering poison as the trial continues.