Nazli Merthoca, 24, lied to police about her constant abuse which ended Kaylani’s life
Hackney mum shouts at police after being arrested for throttling her baby to death
A Hackney mum throttled her three-month-old baby to death before trying to cover up her heinous crimes. Nazli Merthoca, 24, of Homerton High Street, abused her daughter Kaylani Kalanzi throughout her short life until she received traumatic brain injuries.
At 10.30pm on July 8 last year, Merthoca called 999 claiming her daughter had stopped breathing. Paramedics found Kaylani in a critical condition and rushed her to Homerton Hospital.
Scans in A&E revealed the extent of her brain damage consistent with physical abuse. The next day officers visited Merthoca’s family home to arrest her, along with her partner Herbert Kalanzi, 35, who was later cleared of all offences.
Bodycam footage showed Merthoca become irate with police, while in custody she threatened to leave the country if released on bail. In initial police interviews Merthoca claimed that Kaylani became unwell while she was caring for her, ultimately slipping into unconsciousness. She denied that any assault had taken place.
Nonetheless, she was remanded in custody. Meanwhile Kaylani was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital where her condition deteriorated over the following weeks.
Doctors eventually decided to remove her life support. She was pronounced dead at 6pm on July 23 2024. A postmortem carried out a week later found Kaylani had died due to blunt force trauma.
This contradicted the account given in Merthoca’s interview. The suspicions of detectives were confirmed when the forensic pathologist found that Kaylani’s injuries could only have arisen from severe shaking.
The mother’s devices were then seized by police which revealed a pattern of toxic and abusive behaviour. This was subsequently produced as evidence in court.
Nazil Merthoca was convicted of manslaughter by a jury at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, October 14. Herbert Kalanzi, 35, of Ranelagh Road, Newham, was cleared of murder, manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child. Merthoca will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on Monday, December 15.
‘Kaylani’s life was cut short by this hideous abuse’
Detective Inspector John Marriott, from Specialist Crime North – who led the investigation – said: “Merthoca carried out a horrific assault on her own child. To add insult, she then spun a web of lies to the emergency services in order to cover up her responsibility. Though Kaylani’s life was cut short by this hideous abuse, there were relatives who loved and cared for her. They have been left traumatised by her killing, and our thoughts are with them at this time.
“Investigators compiled extensive digital evidence, which, coupled with overwhelming medical evidence, painted a damning picture of the defendant at trial. Offences against children – especially of this gravity – are some of the most difficult cases police deal with. The evidence here was particularly harrowing and complex, and I would like to commend the investigation team for their work bringing Merthoca to justice.”
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