A young mother left her 17-month-old daughter to drown in a bath before dressing her in a christening outfit and keeping her death a secret for two days, a Sydney murder trial has heard.
The 27-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wrote a letter to the child's father before the girl's death saying "I'm not proud of what I've done", crown prosecutor Michael Fox told the Supreme Court today.
The woman has pleaded not guilty to murdering her daughter at her Gwynnville unit on July 21, 2009, but guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of substantial impairment.
The court would hear evidence the woman placed her child facedown in the bath, closed the door and sat in the lounge where she could "hear the taps overflowing", Mr Fox said.
She then attempted to take her own life and considered jumping off The Gap at Watson's Bay before she told the child's father.
Police and ambulance were called to the apartment on July 23, where they discovered the toddler laid on the bed wearing a christening gown.
The relationship between the mother and the child's father had deteriorated in the months before the killing.
Two days before the little girl died, the woman wrote a letter to the child's father saying "I took (our daughter) with me because I was scared to leave her behind with you."
The accused's "frustration, anger, disappointment" at her partner was a key part of the case, Mr Fox said.
Defence barrister Dina Yehia, SC, told the jury the woman was "a loving, caring mother" who became "increasingly isolated and increasingly depressed" in the months before the child's death.
The jury was told the key issue would be the mother's state of mind at the time of the incident, with evidence she suffered from a depressive illness that substantially impaired her capacity to function.
The case continues before Acting Justice Michael Grove.
