An English mother who climbed into bed with her 4-year-old son and, for reasons that remain unclear, stabbed him to death has been sentenced to detention in a mental health hospital.
Akanksha Adivarekar was sentenced on Thursday for the June 10, 2025 death of her son, Agustya Hegishte. Authorities said the child was found dead inside the family home in Maidenhead, England. Prosecutors alleged Adivarekar killed him while he slept, then drank bleach in what appeared to be a suicide attempt before going to a nearby hospital, where she received life-saving surgery.
Adivarekar, 37, a former medical consultant who described herself online as a “penfluencer,” was ordered to remain in a hospital under restrictions through the country’s Mental Health Act, according to the BBC, Metro UK, and the Bucks Free Press.
In a statement released Thursday, Thames Valley Police said Adivarekar pleaded guilty last Wednesday, Dec. 3, during a hearing at Reading Crown Court. “Today’s sentencing brings a complex and challenging investigation to its conclusion,” Detective Inspector Rob Underhill said following the hearing.
During sentencing, both the judge and Adivarekar’s husband expressed hope that compulsory treatment could help her recover. Her husband, who was not identified in court, gave an emotional statement, saying, “I have lost my son, who was everything to me and also my wife.”
“The pain of this loss is indescribable,” he reportedly added, saying he chose forgiveness and hoped she could live a “good, respectable life” after treatment—something he described as the “real justice” for him and his son.
Metro UK reported that Judge Michael Grieve KC told Adivarekar: “You require treatment, not punishment.” The judge also said she would carry “terrible pain” for what happened, and noted there had been “no welfare concerns” about the child before the killing. “There was no rational motive for the offence,” he said, adding that before a manic episode, she had a “normal, loving relationship” with her son.
Prosecutors said Adivarekar arrived at the hospital on the day of the killing wearing a blood-soaked nightgown and told staff she had killed her son to “end his suffering.” According to Metro UK, staff described her as “zoned out” upon arrival. Prosecutors also alleged she later blamed her husband for the child’s death and then drank bleach again at the hospital after undergoing life-saving surgery.
Adivarekar was initially charged with murder, but later entered a plea of manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, according to Thames Valley Police.
“First and foremost, our thoughts remain with Agustya’s family following what has been a truly devastating loss,” Underhill said Thursday. “We hope this outcome provides the family with some sense of closure and the space and privacy they need to grieve.”
