Courtney Gartshore convicted in Peterhead baby hair‑dryer death case

A Aberdeen High Court jury found 28‑year‑old Courtney Gartshore guilty of culpable homicide after her three‑month‑old daughter, Dahlia‑Rose Gartshore, died in September 2023 at a home in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire. The verdict was delivered after just over an hour of deliberation and sentencing is set for 14 August at the High Court in Edinburgh.

During the trial, a burns expert testified that the injuries – burns covering about 18 % of the infant’s body – may not have caused death and that the baby could already have been dead before the hairdryer was switched on. Prosecutors alleged that Gartshore had been intoxicated on alcohol and mephedrone while caring for the child, and that the baby's DNA was found on the hairdryer. The Crown argued she “culpably and recklessly” exposed the infant to heat, while the defence questioned whether the heat injury was the cause of death.

The case has drawn condemnation from police, who described the death of a defenseless child at the hands of a parent as “incredibly disturbing”.