A mother who strangled her five-year-old daughter to death after becoming severely depressed during the pandemic has been jailed for five years.
On the morning of Tuesday September 14, Madarova had called the girl's father David Thomas and told him Alijah had died, the court heard.
She was found lying on the sofa with her daughter tucked under a blanket as if to go to sleep, prosecutors said.
Madarova went on to tell medics that she felt she had "failed" her daughter and had consumed two bottles of wine.
Alijah had begged her "Mummy, don’t kill me", she told paramedics, and she said she responded "I don’t want to kill you, I just want to help you, no baby you’re safe".
She said Alijah had replied "No mummy, you’re killing me".
On Friday, Madarova, a Slovakian national, appeared for sentencing before Judge Richard Marks at the Old Bailey.
She had denied murder but admitted manslaughter, which was accepted by the prosecution in light of medical reports.
In a victim impact statement, Alijah's father, David Thomas, said: "I am blessed that I have other children but the fact that I have lost one is devastating.
"Martina is not a bad person, she was the best mum.
"I still believe that she was not well and would not have intentionally done anything to harm our daughter."
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson QC said the defendant had suffered a "significant deterioration" in her mental state during the Covid pandemic and was severely depressed at the time of the killing.
Jailing Madarova, Judge Marks noted the killing involved a "breach of trust" of a "vulnerable" victim.
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