Court told childminder was `normal, relaxed' on day after a baby's death

A five-month-old boy who died after suffering a massive brain injury while in the care of his childminder showed classic signs…

A five-month-old boy who died after suffering a massive brain injury while in the care of his childminder showed classic signs of "shaken infant syndrome", a pathologist told a jury in Norwich Crown Court yesterday. Baby Joseph Mackin was "shaken backwards and forwards as hard as you possibly can", Dr Nat Cary told the court. Dr Cary was giving evidence on the second day of the trial of childminder Ms Helen Stacey (41), of North Walsham, Norfolk. She denies murdering Joseph at her home on May 13th, 1997.

Joseph's parents, Anthony and Corinne Mackin, also of North Walsham, have told the court that Joseph was happy and healthy when left at Ms Stacey's house at about 7 am. Mr Mackin returned at 5.15pm to find his son "floppy like a rag doll". The baby was declared dead an hour later.

Dr Cary, who carried out post mortem tests on Joseph's body, said the baby died from a head injury. There had been extensive bleeding around Joseph's brain which could only have been caused by the use of considerable force, he added. He ruled out the possibility that Joseph had suffered an accidental injury or been injured by another small child.

Dr Cary said the force needed to cause such extensive brain injuries was equivalent to the damage caused in a road accident or a fall from the first-storey of a building.

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"This is a classic injury of the kind seen in what is called `shaken infant syndrome'," he said. "It arises from very violent shaking and the head rocks backwards and forwards."

Dr Cary said it was possible that Joseph had also been thrown down on to a cushioned surface such as a sofa. "To put it in context you make shake somebody to wake them up. This is way in excess of that."

Dr Cary said Joseph had suffered a deep brain injury and there were signs of bruising around his neck.

The court has heard that Ms Stacey failed to call a doctor or alert Joseph's parents. She carried on working as normal the day after Joseph's death, caring for another child.

Ms Tracey Hibbs, whose daughter Caroline, now three, was also looked after by Ms Stacey, said she took her child to Ms Stacey's house on May 14th and 15th without realising that anything was amiss.

"Helen appeared her normal relaxed self with no hint that anything was wrong," Mrs Hibbs told the court in a written statement.

The court has heard that Ms Stacey was arrested on Saturday, May 17th, 1997, and questioned about Joseph's death for seven hours by police. She denied either deliberately or accidentally injuring Joseph and could give no explanation as to how he came by his injuries.

Joseph had been "crying and whingeing" throughout the day, she told police. She admitted that by about 3 p.m. his "grizzling" was beginning to "give her a headache".

"He had been in my earhole for the best part of 10 minutes and it was then beginning to go through me," the court heard in transcripts of her statement.

She told police that in retrospect she blamed herself for not calling for help. "Looking back with hindsight I should have phoned the doctor by 4.10 but I didn't because I thought Mr Mackin will be here in 10 minutes," she had said.

During the interview she added: "What I cannot understand is why I am sitting here getting all this blame for something I am supposed to have done that I know nothing of."

Ms Stacey said she had stayed up for most of the night after learning of Joseph's death. She had spent much of it looking at her sleeping eight-month-old daughter, Monique.

"I sat for most of the night on the edge of the bed watching my daughter in the cot - making sure she was still breathing," Ms Stacey said when questioned.

The hearing continues today.