A mother has today dramatically changed her plea and admitted murdering her seven-week-old baby son.

There were delays in the Mold Crown Court trial when defendant Hannah Turtle, 22, was said to be feeling unwell.

Half a day was previously lost when she had apparently self-harmed after buying a razor at the prison shop.

She was said to have caused superficial injuries to herself.

But on day seven of her trial, after further delays, Turtle entered the dock and admitted murdering James Hughes back in 2016 at the home she then shared with her partner Ian Hughes and his mother Kathleen in Ryeland Street, Shotton.

The jury was discharged by Mr Justice Lewis after Turtle also admitted three charges of causing him unnecessary suffering and two charges of administering him a poison, her own anti-depressant medication which had been put in his milk bottle.

She sat in the dock with her head bowed, crying quietly, as the jury was discharged and will be sentenced on Thursday.

The judge said he had read reports from forensic psychiatrists instructed by the prosecution and the defence and he would be able to take those reports into account.

Defence barrister Gordon Cole QC said the jury had not heard the psychiatric evidence but there was relevant material available for mitigation.

Infanticide was no longer an issue, but post-natal depression was, he said.

While she had no mental illness it was agreed she suffered from a personality disorder.

The judge told the jury there had to be a life sentence for murder but he needed to fix the minimum term she would have to serve and one of the issues he would need to consider was her culpability.

Turtle was remanded in custody in the meantime.

During the trial barrister David Elias QC, prosecuting, told the jury that after putting forward different versions of events Turtle accepted that she had caused his death but did not mean to do it.

She told how she heard voices telling her that she was a bad mother and that she did not deserve her baby – before she went on to suffocate him.

Turtle accepted she stopped him breathing on three occasions within a 10-day period.

It was the third episode which led to her death.

On May 31, 2016, she deliberately pinched his nose so he was unable to breathe and he turned blue.

Paramedics were called, he received hospital treatment and he was discharged back to his family, apparently in good health.

But the following day, June 3, when alone with her son, she deliberately suffocated him again when he became floppy.

He was resuscitated, he suffered a fit on the way to hospital and doctors could find no medical reason for his condition.

James returned home on June 6 but three days later the prosecution say she murdered him.

Mr Elias said she put her hand over his nose and mouth and stopped him breathing even though he was struggling against her.

He was flailing his arms about and it went on for between five to 10 minutes, he said.

She sat with his lifeless body for several minutes, went to check on her mother in law, went to the toilet and on her return to her room, pretended that she had just found him.

Unfortunately James did not recover from the last episode, he suffered brain damage from a devastating lack of oxygen and blood, and died in hospital on June 13 at 58 days old.

Turtle initially denied being responsible but then told a social worker and repeated it to a nurse that she had killed him.

She said she needed help and had heard voices telling her she did not deserve James.

“I wish I had never done it. I know I need help,” she said.

The jury was told that when refused permission to go to the funeral she made false allegations against her partner Ian Hughes.

But in a later letter to the police she admitted she was responsible.

Turtle denied murder, three charges of ill-treatment and two of administering poison.