A baby was given transfusions of more than 12 times her normal blood volume in attempts by doctors to save her life following an assault carried out by her father, a murder trial was told yesterday. The Central Criminal Court in Dublin heard that six-month-old Vanessa Kelly received an "unprecedented" number of injuries for an infant of her size in an assault by her father at their Cork home.
Mr Fergus Whitty (31) has pleaded not guilty to the murder of the baby at the family's apartment in Mount Vernon Crescent, South Douglas Road, Cork, on September 15th last year.
However, the unemployed man admitted yesterday that he assaulted his daughter on the night before she died and that as a result the infant suffered severe injuries from which she died the following morning.
Medical evidence read to the court showed that Vanessa suffered extensive bleeding from a deep cut under her nose and to her mouth, a broken arm, facial fractures, extensive bruising and a ruptured liver leading to serious internal bleeding. She was given more than 12 times her normal blood volume as doctors in two hospitals attempted to save her life.
Eventually the baby suffered blood-clotting problems and then a heart attack, which eventually killed her shortly after 6.30 a.m. in the morning after the assault. On several occasions at the hospital, Mr Whitty told medical staff that Vanessa had suffered her injuries after he accidentally dropped her on the bathroom floor at their home.
A consultant paediatrician at Cork University Hospital, Dr Anthony Ryan, said in a statement that he did not believe the injuries were consistent with an accidental fall and he had told Mr Whitty that gardai and social workers would be informed.
Earlier yesterday the jury of nine men and three women was told how Mr Whitty had spent a considerable period of time drinking in a Cork public house before returning home on the night of the assault.
He went to bed but was awakened at around 9 p.m. by the sound of his other daughter, two-year-old Melissa, crying. He told Ms Siobhan O'Donovan, who was babysitting in the apartment, that she could leave. Ms O'Donovan was worried that Mr Whitty would be left alone to look after the children because he was drunk and she went to fetch the defendant's partner, Ms Yvonne Kelly, in a local GAA club, where she was having a drink.
She was refused admission to the club because of her age, and as she made her way back to the house she met Ms Kelly's eight-year-old daughter, Donna. She said Donna was "hysterical" and was also looking for her mother to come home.
Ms O'Donovan returned to the house where she saw the baby lying on the bed in her parents' bedroom wearing just a nappy. She was very badly cut and was bleeding, but was still conscious. She was not breathing properly and was gurgling.
A neighbour, Ms Yvonne Walsh, described how she ran barefoot to the apartment when she was alerted by Donna Kelly. She grabbed the baby and within minutes was driving her to Cork's South Infirmary with the accused.
Ms Walsh said that during the journey Mr Whitty told her repeatedly that the baby had fallen out of his arms and he should not have picked her up. He was very anxious that they got to the hospital quickly.
Ms Kelly told the court that on the day of the assault she had an argument with Mr Whitty about his drinking and had packed his bags and told him to stay with his mother. However, he had come back to the house, saying he did not want to leave her and the children.
Later, when she arrived at the hospital, Mr Whitty told her that Vanessa had fallen accidentally out of his arms in the bathroom.
The case continues today.