A mum on trial over the death of her baby daughter told a jury she suspected her partner had hurt the youngster after she was taken to hospital with fatal injuries.
Jessica Hopkinson told a court she had heard a loud bang come from downstairs while Lee Davison was alone in the living room with their daughter on the evening before she died.
Hopkinson, 19, and Davison, 28, are on trial at Leeds Crown Court where they both deny causing or allowing the death seven-week-old Kristal.
Kristal died in hospital hours after paramedics were called to the couple’s home in Ashleigh Avenue, Pontefract, on April 12 last year.
The court has heard Kristal suffered violent episodes before her death which left her with “catastrophic” injuries to her brain and body.
Giving evidence yesterday, Hopkinson said she heard a loud bang come from the living room and Kristal crying while Davison was alone with her.
The teenager said she was too afraid to say anything at the time in case Davison hit her.
She said she became concerned later that night as Kristal began to look pale and was wheezy. An ambulance was called when the baby began gasping for breath.
Hopkinson’s barrister Alistair MacDonald asked: “Did you think when you saw Kristal pale, when you saw her wheezing, that Lee might have heard her?”
“Yes,” she replied.
Mr MacDonald then asked: “Do you wish you had rang a doctor?” She replied: “Yes.”
The jury heard Hopkinson was allowed to hold Kristal shortly before she died but was arrested soon after.
Hopkinson said she initially failed to tell the truth about what Davison had done and did not tell officers he had been violent towards her.
Asked why she had not told police he had been violent, she told the court: “Because I was scared that he was going to get out and get me again.”
Mr MacDonald asked: “In the end you did say to the police some things about what Lee had done to Kristal didn’t you?”. She replied: “Yes.”
The jury heard Hopkinson had made daily visits to the place where Kristal is buried.
Mr MacDonald asked her: “What were your feelings for Kristal?” She replied: “I was heartbroken when she died.”
Proceeding
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