Mother in court charged with murdering Mikaeel

THE MOTHER of tragic three-yearold Mikaeel Kular has made her first public court appearance charged with his murder.

Rosdeep Adekoya, 34, is also accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.

Dressed in black and wearing glasses, Adekoya made no plea and spoke only to confirm her name at a brief preliminary hearing before Judge Lord Boyd at Edinburgh High Court yesterday.

Court papers allege that Adekoya repeatedly seized hold of Mikaeel Kular, repeatedly punched him on the head and body, caused his body to strike against a hard object, inflicted blunt force trauma injuries on his head and body, failed to seek medical attention for him and murdered him at the family’s flat in Edinburgh’s Gait Crescent between January 12 and 15 this year.

Her address was given in court papers as Cornton Vale Prison, Stirling.

Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC asked for the case to be continued to a further hearing later this month.

Defence advocate Brian McConnachie QC said: “It would be of assistance to parties that a plea is not entered at this stage.”

The second charge states that Adekoya took steps to conceal the alleged crime with intent to defeat the ends of justice.

It alleges that she wrapped Mikaeel’s dead body in a duvet cover, placed it in a suitcase and transported it in her car to an address in Kirkcaldy.

It further alleges that Adekoya removed the suitcase from her car, took it to an area of woodland behind a house, hid it under a bush and attempted to conceal it by covering it with woodland debris and foliage.

Prosecutors allege that she made a 999 call to emergency services pretending Mikaeel had got out of his bed between the evening of January 15 and the morning of January 16, climbed on to a stool, unlocked the front door and left the flat, when the truth was she knew that he was dead.

Prosecutors allege that she caused a police investigation to be launched into his disappearance and that a major search was then made for him which involved police officers, members of the fire service, the coastguard, the mountain rescue, air support and members of the public.

Adekoya made no plea or declaration and the case was continued to a further hearing on July 25.

Mikaeel’s body was discovered in Kirkcaldy on January 17, the day after he was reported missing from his home in the north of Edinburgh.

After his disappearance, police issued his picture and appealed to the public for help in finding him.

Hundreds of volunteers from joined police and specialist teams as they searched the surrounding area.

Mikaeel Kular’s body was found in Kirkcaldy the day after he was reported missing from his home in Edinburgh.