Mother-of-five Zilinskaite concealed the pregnancies due to a ‘fundamental distrust of authorities, both in the UK and based on her experiences in Lithuania’ where she was born, said a judge
A mum who admitted burying the bodies of two dead babies at her home after hiding their births has been sentenced.
Egle Zilinskaite, 31, from Cardiff, hid the bodies of two full-term babies inside her home in Maes-Y-Felin, Wildmill, Bridgend, after she delivered them “alone and without medical support”, a court was told. Mother-of-five Zilinskaite concealed the pregnancies due to a “fundamental distrust of authorities, both in the UK and based on her experiences in Lithuania” where she was born, a judge sitting at Cardiff Crown Court said on Thursday.
Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, sentencing, told the defendant: “You made a deliberate decision not to seek assistance from the authorities because you knew the authorities could and would remove your children if necessary.”
She added: “While you have committed serious offences, the deaths of your children were not your fault, and you have suffered the loss of two children at birth.”
Zilinskaite was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment suspended for two years, and is required to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 15 days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.
On November 26 2022, police officers were searching the end-of-terrace property in Bridgend as part of a separate inquiry when they noticed a “foul smell” coming from the upstairs area of the house, the court heard.
Upon investigating, they discovered the first baby concealed in blankets and bin bags in the property’s attic, and the second baby wrapped in bed sheets in an airing cupboard, the judge was told.
Medical examination later revealed the children, referred to as Baby A and Baby B in court, were full-term babies and the biological children of Zilinskaite and her then partner, Zilvinas Ledovskis, who lived with her.
Due to the severe decomposition of the remains, no cause of death could be ascertained, the court heard. A pathologist however found it was “not unreasonable” to conclude both babies died at around the time of birth due to the presence of placenta and umbilical cord.
The court heard Zilinskaite gave birth to the first baby in August 2019 at a separate address, then moved the remains to the house in Bridgend where she delivered a second stillborn child in September 2021.
During the sentence hearing, defence lawyer Matthew Roberts told the judge Zilinskaite feared she would be blamed for the stillbirths at the time.
He said: “Her emotions were all over the place, she didn’t know what to do. She had a difficult relationship with her partner who was an alcoholic and was also emotionally abusive towards her.”
Zilinskaite pleaded guilty to two counts of concealing the birth of a child and two counts of preventing the lawful and decent burial of a dead body at a previous hearing on April 10 2024. At the time, her former partner Ledovskis, now 50, who lives in Swansea, pleaded not guilty to the same charges.
He was however found not guilty on all counts in May this year after the prosecution said it would be presenting no evidence against him. A funeral also took place in May this year during which the babies were buried, the court was told.
