Courtney Gartshore was convicted of culpable homicide after her 3-month-old daughter died from prolonged exposure to heat from a hairdryer.
EDINBURGH, Scotland — A Scottish woman has been sentenced to six years in prison for the culpable homicide of her 3-month-old daughter, who died after being exposed to sustained heat from a hairdryer at their home in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.
Courtney Gartshore, 28, was sentenced Aug. 14 at the High Court in Edinburgh after a jury unanimously convicted her July 16 in the death of Dahlia-Rose Gartshore. The child died Sept. 30, 2023. Judge Simon Collins said prosecutors had not alleged that Gartshore intended to harm or kill her daughter, but the jury found that her actions amounted to gross recklessness and caused the infant’s death.
According to the court’s sentencing statement, Gartshore had been socializing with friends and neighbors on the evening before Dahlia-Rose died and had consumed a significant amount of alcohol. She remained in sole charge of the baby and returned home at about 4 a.m. Investigators determined that sometime between about 4 a.m. and 9 a.m., Dahlia-Rose was subjected to significant and sustained heat from a hairdryer that was later found plugged into a wall beside Gartshore’s bed.
Exactly why and how the hairdryer was used remains unknown. Collins said Gartshore had not given an account of what happened either during the trial or later to a criminal justice social worker. Her defense lawyer suggested at sentencing that Gartshore may have tried to warm the child because she believed the baby was cold, but the judge did not treat that explanation as an established fact.
Medical evidence presented at trial showed that Dahlia-Rose suffered serious heat-related injuries affecting about 18% of her body. The court heard competing expert opinions about the cause of death. A prosecution expert concluded that hyperthermia and heatstroke were the likely cause, while a defense expert argued that Dahlia-Rose may already have died from another sudden and unexplained cause before she was exposed to the hairdryer. The jury rejected the defense position and found beyond a reasonable doubt that the heat exposure caused her death.
Collins said the case was one of culpable homicide caused by a high degree of carelessness or gross recklessness, rather than an intentional assault. He assessed Gartshore’s culpability at a medium level but said the harm was at the highest level because an infant had died. The judge also said the evidence indicated that the hairdryer was positioned close to Dahlia-Rose and left running for at least 20 minutes and possibly considerably longer.
In deciding the sentence, Collins cited Dahlia-Rose’s age and complete dependence on her mother as aggravating factors. He also considered Gartshore’s alcohol use and her actions after the child’s death. The judge said Gartshore moved Dahlia-Rose from the bedroom to the balcony before emergency responders arrived and later denied knowing how the child had been injured. He said those circumstances indicated an effort to conceal her involvement.
The judge also considered mitigating circumstances. Gartshore had no previous convictions, and the court heard that she was a young single mother with a history of mental health difficulties, limited support and responsibility for an older child. Collins said the evidence before the court suggested Gartshore had loved Dahlia-Rose and that the fatal episode appeared to be a serious departure from what had otherwise been a mostly satisfactory standard of care toward the infant.
Police Scotland said officers became involved on Sept. 30, 2023, after the Scottish Ambulance Service reported the death of a 3-month-old girl in Peterhead. Dahlia-Rose was pronounced dead at the scene. Police opened an investigation, and Gartshore was arrested and charged in November 2023. She was later tried at the High Court in Aberdeen, where the jury returned its unanimous culpable homicide verdict.
Detective Inspector James Callander said after the conviction that the circumstances had deeply affected those involved in the investigation. He thanked officers, partner agencies and members of the local community who assisted investigators as they worked to establish what happened to Dahlia-Rose.
Gartshore’s six-year prison sentence was backdated to July 16, when she was taken into custody following her conviction. Collins declined to impose an extended sentence, saying the legal requirements for additional post-release supervision under that type of sentence had not been met.
Author note: Last updated August 15, 2026.