Defence attorneys for Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy yesterday asked a judge to hold a private hearing so they can question two medical experts to determine whether their opinions on the death of a child in Ms McCarthy’s care was tainted by conversations with prosecutors.
Attorney David Meier presented emails to the court which he said showed that prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald told at least one medial expert about crucial evidence in the case - including a bloody baby wipe, a hole in the wall of the apartment where the child lived and statements given to investigators by a neighbour.
“It’s very clear there has been discussions with the government,” Mr Meier said, quoting from emails provided by the prosecution in which one of the experts, a paediatrician and expert in child abuse, indicates his concerns over the child’s autopsy.
Judge Maureen Hogan said she will decide whether to allow private testimony from the paediatrician and a medical examiner at a hearing next Tuesday.
Ms McCarthy, dressed in a green shirt and black pants, gave a quick smile to family members as she entered the courtroom at Middlesex Superior Court outside of Boston yesterday. She is charged with the January 2013 murder of Rehma Sabir while baby-sitting at the child's home in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Mr Meier said a medical report on the child’s death prepared for the prosecution by the paediatrician showed it had been revised, redacted and altered.
He also said emails obtained in the case also appear to show the District Attorney for Middlesex County contacted the medical examiner who did the autopsy on the child and asked that expert to delay forming an opinion until further information could be provided.