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26/06/2009
Teen Convicted Of Two-Year-Old's Murder
A teenage boy has been convicted of the murder of a toddler he was babysitting for 90 minutes.
Karl McCluney, 15, inflicted 68 injuries on two-year-old Demi Leigh Mahon, after she was punched, kicked and bitten by him, Manchester Crown Court heard.
The jury heard that the boy has never explained his attack on Demi Leigh but has alluded to the fact he was angry with her behaviour.
She had been left with the boy when her mother went to claim a child benefit cheque in July last year.
The 15-year-old admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, however this claim was rejected by the jury.
Following McCluney's conviction the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney lifted the reporting restrictions on the defendant's identity.
The court heard the attack on the youngster was so ferocious she was left brain-damaged after being punched repeatedly in the face.
Pathologist Dr Naomi Carter also said pert of her scalp was sheared off, most likely as a result of it coming into contact with a hard surface.
Dr Carter told the jury it was neither "reasonable or credible" that the vast majority of the injuries were sustained accidentally.
Demi's mother Ann Marie McDonald, sobbed as she gave evidence on the first day of the boy's trial.
She told the jury of six men and six women she had left her daughter with the defendant at the house in Eccles, Salford, for around 90 minutes while she went to collect her child benefit and buy a birthday card.
Ms McDonald said when she returned the youth was standing outside the house with a man, adding the 15-year-old said: "I picked her up - I might have hurt her - and she fell in the park."
She told the court she then rushed into the house to discover her child in bed, with bedclothes partially covering her face.
Ms McDonald - also known as Sindy - said Demi could not breathe properly and when she picked her up from a bed her head flopped back, as she tried to wake her up.
"I screamed 'Why haven't you rung an ambulance?' He said 'I never done nothing, I've not done nothing'," she told the court.
Demi Leigh was taken to hospital where her parents were at her bedside when her life support machine was switched off two days later.
(JM/BMcc)
Karl McCluney, 15, inflicted 68 injuries on two-year-old Demi Leigh Mahon, after she was punched, kicked and bitten by him, Manchester Crown Court heard.
The jury heard that the boy has never explained his attack on Demi Leigh but has alluded to the fact he was angry with her behaviour.
She had been left with the boy when her mother went to claim a child benefit cheque in July last year.
The 15-year-old admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, however this claim was rejected by the jury.
Following McCluney's conviction the judge, Mr Justice Sweeney lifted the reporting restrictions on the defendant's identity.
The court heard the attack on the youngster was so ferocious she was left brain-damaged after being punched repeatedly in the face.
Pathologist Dr Naomi Carter also said pert of her scalp was sheared off, most likely as a result of it coming into contact with a hard surface.
Dr Carter told the jury it was neither "reasonable or credible" that the vast majority of the injuries were sustained accidentally.
Demi's mother Ann Marie McDonald, sobbed as she gave evidence on the first day of the boy's trial.
She told the jury of six men and six women she had left her daughter with the defendant at the house in Eccles, Salford, for around 90 minutes while she went to collect her child benefit and buy a birthday card.
Ms McDonald said when she returned the youth was standing outside the house with a man, adding the 15-year-old said: "I picked her up - I might have hurt her - and she fell in the park."
She told the court she then rushed into the house to discover her child in bed, with bedclothes partially covering her face.
Ms McDonald - also known as Sindy - said Demi could not breathe properly and when she picked her up from a bed her head flopped back, as she tried to wake her up.
"I screamed 'Why haven't you rung an ambulance?' He said 'I never done nothing, I've not done nothing'," she told the court.
Demi Leigh was taken to hospital where her parents were at her bedside when her life support machine was switched off two days later.
(JM/BMcc)
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