Foster mother claimed 10-month-old baby died after falling off her knee during feeding but doctors had found bruises in previous checks, court hears
- Skyla Giller suffered fatal injuries under the care of paramedic Sarah Higgins
- Ms Higgins says she dropped baby but put her in her cot as she seemed okay
- Told court that she realised something was wrong when she later saw blood
- Foster mother denied manslaughter at Leeds Crown Court as she faced trial
A baby who was allegedly killed after being dropped by her foster mother suffered ‘catastrophic or repetitive’ trauma to the brain, a court heard.
Little Skyla Giller suffered fatal brain injuries while under the care of paramedic Sarah Higgins, 42, while they were alone in her home.
A doctor told a court that colleagues who assessed ten-month-old Skyla considered it likely her injuries were ‘catastrophic or repetitive’.
Sarah Higgins is pictured leaving Leeds Crown Court in West Yorkshire on February 25 and denies manslaughter
Jurors in the manslaughter trial at Leeds Crown Court, West Yorkshire, were told there was ‘no obvious medical cause’ of the brain injuries that killed baby Skyla.
Doctors who assessed the tot just before her death were not given any explanation after discovering multiple bruises on the baby’s arm, the court heard.
Jurors had previously been told how Skyla died at Leeds General Infirmary two days after Higgins dialled 999 and told the operator the baby slipped and fell to the floor while feeding her.
Higgins and her partner Martin Dobson are both Yorkshire Ambulance Service paramedics and were in the process of adopting Skyla at the time of her death on August 26, 2017.
Skyla (pictured) died of brain injuries in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and he foster mother has denied manslaughter
Consultant paediatrician Elizabeth Day told the jury how she examined Skyla after she was admitted to hospital and found five bruises on the baby’s right arm. The jury was shown a diagram of where the bruises appeared.
Prosecutor Richard Wright QC asked Dr Day: ‘What view did you form about the five marks?’
The doctor replied: ‘No explanation has been provided for this.’ The trial has heard Skyla also suffered bleeding to eye tissue and optic nerves.
Dr Day said an ophthalmology report suggested a ‘traumatic cause’ should be considered as there was no obvious medical cause for the injuries.
She told the court she interviewed Higgins about the incident at her then home in Huddersfield, West Yorks., on August 24, 2017.
The doctor said Higgins described how she had been sitting on a wooden rocking chair feeding Skyla.
The defendant said the baby had been ‘grizzly’ and was not taking her milk.
Dr Day said: ‘Sarah stood up to turn Skyla around to face her and, in her words, ‘I lost grip of her’.’
Higgins said the baby fell to the floor from around chest height and fell on her bottom in what she described as not being a ‘significant fall’.
Higgins told the doctor Skyla did not initially appear to be injured and she put the baby back in her cot.
She described how she became concerned when Skyla’s face ‘went blank’ and she noticed blood in her mouth.
Higgins went on to describe how Skyla’s body went ‘floppy and the colour drained from her body.’
Dr Day said: ‘Sarah said she called Martin on her mobile phone. She thought this was the quickest way of summoning help. Sarah then ran to the lounge and dialled 999.’
The doctor said Higgins told her she then ran across the street to get a neighbour and screamed: ‘Please help me.’
Higgins denies manslaughter. The trial continues.