Akanksha Adivarekar, a 37-year-old former medical consultant from Maidenhead, England, was sentenced Thursday to indefinite detention in a mental health hospital under the Mental Health Act for killing her 4-year-old son, Agustya Hegishte, on June 10, 2025. She stabbed him 11 times while he slept, then drank bleach in a suicide attempt before seeking help at a hospital, where staff saved her life amid her erratic behavior—she arrived blood-soaked, claimed she ended his “suffering,” blamed her husband, and tried bleach again post-surgery.
Originally charged with murder, Adivarekar pleaded guilty last week to manslaughter due to diminished responsibility from a manic episode with no prior welfare concerns or rational motive. Judge Michael Grieve KC emphasized treatment over punishment, noting her prior loving relationship with her son and the lifelong pain she’d endure. Her husband, in emotional testimony, forgave her despite his devastation—”I have lost my son, who was everything to me and also my wife”—and hoped for her recovery as true justice.
Thames Valley Police hailed the sentencing as closure for the family after a complex probe, with detectives expressing ongoing sympathy for their grief. This case underscores how severe mental health crises can erupt without warning, even in stable homes, prompting calls for better early intervention in the UK. No similar local incidents tie directly, but it aligns with rising awareness of postpartum or acute psychosis risks.
