Millie murder accused is refused bail

Chris Donegan • Published 27 May 2010 16:00

The man accused of murdering Fermanagh toddler Millie Martin told police she was not breathing when he found her and that he tried to resuscitate her, a court has heard.

Millie died last December from a massive head wound but also suffered broken ribs and bruising to her vaginal area, chest and abdomen.

Her mother's partner, 30-year-old Barry McCarney, from Glebe Park, Enniskillen, is charged with murdering the 15-month-old girl.

On Monday he applied for bail with his solicitor, Mr. Conor Heaney, telling Fermanagh Court there was "no evidence at all" against him.

Opposing the application the prosecuting counsel submitted that the police investigation would be put in "serious jeopardy" if McCarney was released and that he might harm his children or interfere with witnesses.

District Judge Austin Kennedy said that on the night of Millie's death her mother had gone to get McCarney a bar of chocolate from a shop 200 yards away. When she returned a "matter of minutes" later her daughter and partner were not there. Millie had taken "a turn for the worse" and McCarney had taken her to the Erne Hospital.

"Only the defendant knows what happened in that short period of time," said the District Judge.

He noted that McCarney has a history of violence with convictions for assault and refused the bail application.

The prosecutor explained that the Public Prosecution Service was still awaiting a report from the National Injuries Database, which compares evidence from different cases to try and establish the cause of injuries.

She said it also intended to get a report from a pathologist in England in addition to the report of Northern Ireland's State Pathologist, Professor Jack Crane, who carried out the post mortem on Millie. She said that due to the immature nature of the child's brain it had to be kept for several months before it could be forensically examined.

She said it would be "some considerable time yet" before all of the evidence in the case was available.

The court heard that Millie was admitted to the Erne Hospital around 8.30pm on Thursday, December 10, last year. She wasn't breathing and was described as being in a "lifeless state".

A post mortem revealed she died from a massive injury to the back of her head. The pathologist, Professor Crane, also found that she had suffered fractures to her ribs "at different times" and received a hard blow to the stomach several days prior to her death. There were also injuries to her genitals.

Explaining the background to the case, a detective constable said McCarney and Millie's mother, Rachel, got together last September and he moved into her home at Glebe Park in Enniskillen shortly afterwards.

McCarney was not the little girl's father but he has three children by two previous partners. The officer said police were concerned he might cause them harm. She handed in his criminal record and said he had a history of violence. He had assaulted previous partners, but not Millie's mother.

She said her main concern was that he would intimidate and interfere with witnesses. She pointed out that he had previously been charged with assaulting a woman, threatening to kill her and choking her. The victim withdrew her complaint after one of McCarney's relations approached her and said: "No face, no case."

The prosecutor submitted that there was a "very, very high risk" that McCarney would interfere with witnesses and, given that Millie may have "suffered violence" on more than one occasion, would commit further offences.

The court heard that on the night Millie died her mother had changed her nappy prior to putting her to bed and going to the shop and saw no injuries. She returned "a matter of minutes" later to find the back door open and her child and partner missing.

During four days of questioning during which he was interviewed on 21 occasions McCarney told police that as Millie's mother was pulling out of the driveway to go to the shop and get him a bar of chocolate he went upstairs to the toilet and saw Millie in her room. He said he saw her lying in her cot and taking a "big gasp of air" and when he went over to take a closer look she was not breathing.

The detective constable agreed that McCarney went into considerable detail about how he attempted to give Millie mouth-to-mouth and cardiac massage to try and resuscitate her and then ran with her to the next door neighbour's and was driven immediately to the hospital.

McCarney's solicitor, Mr. Heaney, asked her if it was the police case that an otherwise uninjured child was subjected to a "sustained, systematic and merciless" series of assaults and a "frenzied attack".

The officer explained that initially they were faced with a child with a huge head injury and that child died.

"Investigations are on-going and we hope in time all questions will be answered," she stated.

Mr. Heaney, put it to the officer that when McCarney was charged with murder he replied: "I am saddened and sickened by Millie's death. I'm totally innocent of these charges. I had nothing to do with the death of Millie Martin."

The officer accepted that McCarney made the case that in the days prior to the her death Millie had not been eating and appeared to him to be "dopey" and on the day of her death looked exhausted. He himself complained of not feeling well and left work early. Millie's mother collected him. He told police Millie appeared "lifeless" and that her eyes were reddish and bloodshot.

Mr. Heaney pointed out that the clinical director of paediatrics at the Erne Hospital carried out a "very detailed" examination of Millie and was of the opinion that she had signs of significant brain, chest and genital trauma occurring "over a period of time". In addition a consultant paediatrician at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children took a very detailed history from the child's mother indicating she had suffered bruising to the ribs from being tickled a few weeks earlier. It was also determined that at least one of the rib fractures was between five and seven days old.

He submitted that the court must discount the "very understandable emotion" in this case. McCarney had consistently denied involvement and the prosecution had no evidence of a scientific or forensic nature of when the injuries were sustained or when the fatal blow to the head was inflicted and "no evidence at all" to indicate that McCarney had caused them.

He said it was also clear that the child's mother was the primary carer and for long periods of time prior to her death Millie was in the company of "numerous other individuals" and primarily her mother.

Mr. Heaney said that if the court was prepared, in principal, to consider the bail application that would trigger a detailed, multi-agency, risk assessment involving police, social services and probation. He said McCarney would be willing to reside in a hostel managed by the probation service. He had previously complied with stringent bail conditions and in a probation hostel would be under a very controlled regime. In addition a consultant forensic psychiatrist was willing to monitor him.

The application was refused but Mr. Heaney said he had been instructed to apply to the High Court for bail.

McCarney was remanded in continuing custody.

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This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 27 May 10

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