A young mother has admitted killing her four-month-old son, who died in a house fire she had started and then tried to blame on intruders.
Danielle Wails, 22, admitted infanticide at the start of what was due to be a murder trial at Newcastle Crown Court.
Her plea was accepted by the Crown Prosecution after the court heard two psychiatrists both agreed she was suffering from postnatal depression and that the balance of her mind was disturbed at the time of the tragedy.
Following the fire at the house in the Cowgate area of Newcastle on August 28, 2005, police launched a manhunt after Wails claimed two masked men had attacked her in the two-bedroomed terraced house and tied her up with telephone cord.
She told detectives she had been knocked unconscious and when she awoke, the lounge where her son was, was alight.
She said she used her tongue to dial 999 and shouted through the letterbox to neighbours, begging them to try to save her and her son.
Wails, who had split from the boy's father after a series of rows, was living in accommodation provided by a charity that helps single mothers.
The troubled single mum appeared at Newcastle Crown Court where she denied murder but admitted killing Alexander Gallon by starting a fire at their home almost a year ago.
The hearing was adjourned until October 20 for pre-sentence reports to be prepared and Wails was remanded in custody.
Judge David Hodson told Wails, dressed in a white blouse, dark trousers and with her hair pulled back in a ponytail, that all sentencing options would remain open.
