GUILTY UK - Hollie Ashurst, 14 months, murdered, Wigan, 3 Jan 2019 *father arrested*

[HayLouise]

Day 5:

2.20pm Statements

Prosecutor Guy Gozem QC is reading a statement from Sarah Hough, a consultant paediatrician at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation. She was told she was needed urgently and Hollie was in a resuscitation bay, not breathing. Medical staff were working on her.

She examined Hollie and found a half a centimetre cut on the right frontal region of her head. There was a greenish discharge around her eyes and nose. There was minimal response when she examined her pupils.

Ashurst told her Hollie had fallen down two stairs. He said Hollie hadn't been poorly recently and had been "whingey and clingy" that day. She'd eaten toast but not as much as she normally would and hadn't drunk much, he said.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as prosecution case continues

 

[HayLouise]

Day 5:

2.30pm

"The statement says Hollie's mum arrived at hospital and appeared to be "very shocked". She hadn't been told what had happened so Ms Hough relayed Ashurst's account to her. She asked why he hadn't called an ambulance and he said: "I know, maybe I should have."

A doctor noticed a bruise on Hollie's nose and she was re-examined, with more bruising found on her face face and left side. She had a bleed on the brain and needed to go to Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as prosecution case continues

 

[HayLouise]

Day 5:

2.35pm

The next statement is from Sarah Dixon, consultant paediatrician at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. She specialises in child protection.

Findings indicated Hollie had suffered "inflicted head injuries by mechanism of shaking and/or impact trauma and inflicted soft tissue injuries".

The statement goes over what happened in the days before Hollie was injured. On February 26, Ms Thompson noticed a bruise on Hollie's right thigh. She asked Ashurst what it was, saying it looked like a bite mark, and he said she must have banged herself. Ms Thompson described it as "reddish, with bruising and looked new when she first saw it."

The next day she noticed a graze under Hollie's left eye. She wondered if it was a cut or if Hollie had caught it with her nails. She bathed Hollie that night and saw no further injuries.

When asked directly, Ms Thompson said she had seen marks on Hollie's skin previously and thought they were due to Hollie bumping herself. She had never seen any "big ones".

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as prosecution case continues

 

[HayLouise]

Day 5:

2.50pm

Hollie was born at Wigan Infirmary. She was diagnosed with cleft lip and palate and had two operations. The statement says she was a "good eater" and "slept through the night". She started crawling at eight to nine months and by 12 months was "cruising" along furniture. She had babbling speech, could clap and wave, and was a sociable baby.

Ashurst also has an eight-year-old daughter, but has had no contact with her since she was 12 months old.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as prosecution case continues

 

[HayLouise]

Day 5:

2.55pm

Hollie's body was examined fully on the evening of February 28 at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital. There were multiple visible injuries. The bruises were documented on a body map by medical staff. The statement is now going through these injuries. So far they include a bruise on her forehead, a red mark on the base of her nose and red swollen lip. Some injuries it's noted that it's not possible to say if they were caused by resuscitation attempts.

Some injuries were suspected to have been inflicted. They include marks consistent with "fingertip bruising" on her torso. The most likely cause of this was thought to be "forceful compression of the torso". These bruises were thought unlikely to have happened during resuscitation attempts.

She had an injury to her left thigh that was "characteristic of a bite injury". It was more likely that it was a single injury, but could not rule out the possibility of it being composite bruising from two separate bites. Hollie also had a suspected bite injury on her hand.

Hollie died from her injuries.

The jury has now been sent out for a short break.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as prosecution case continues

 

[HayLouise]

Day 5:

3.30pm

The judge and jury are back. There are two more witness statements to be read. The judge is reminding the jury that the medical statements are disputed in some cases by the defence.

The first statement is from a consultant paediatric ophthalmologist at Manchester Eye Hospital. Hollie had retinal haemorrhages. There were too many to count in both eyes.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as prosecution case continues

 

[HayLouise]

Day 5:

3.40pm

The next statement is from a consultant at Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Peter Mark Fortune. Hollie was cold and her skin was "blue and mottled" when she arrived there from Wigan Infirmary. She was managed overnight and the next morning they decided Hollie had an unsurvivable injury.

Her mum was told and she said she didn't want advanced support to continue if there was no chance of recovery. She wanted time for family to visit and for Hollie to be christened. Later that day, life support was withdrawn and Hollie died.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as prosecution case continues

 

[HayLouise]

Day 5:

3.45pm

That's the end of the evidence for today. The jury is being sent home. The case will resume at 10am tomorrow.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as prosecution case continues

 

[HayLouise]

Day 6:

10am In court

The barristers are in court and preparations are being made for the case to resume this morning.

Hollie's family has now arrived in the public gallery. Her mother Leanne Thompson has been here for every day of the trial.

Mr Justice Dove has now come into court and Daniel Ashurst is back in the dock, wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and dark tie. The jury has also arrived.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates from court

 

[HayLouise]

Day 6:

10.10am

A number of statements will be read out this morning by Guy Gozem QC, prosecuting.

The first one is from Jane Elizabeth Johnson, a health visitor for Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust, based in Wigan. She went to the family's home on February 21, 2019 for a 12-month assessment of Hollie. It's something all children have. They filled in a questionnaire, in which Hollie scored well. Only low score was for motor skills as she wasn't walking yet. She could say some words and was playing. Ms Johnson checked her and didn't see any marks or injuries.

"She came across as a happy, smiley girl who interacted well with both parents," she said.

She finished: "I left the address with no concerns at all about Hollie's well-being."

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates from court

 

[HayLouise]

Day 6:

10.15am

Next statement is from Laura Jane Storey. She was contacted by Leanne Thompson on Facebook and arranged to refit her hair extensions on February 6. Then Leanne did her nails on February 21 and she went back on February 27. Daniel Ashurst and Hollie arrived around 20 minutes into the appointment. Hollie was "presented very well", she said.

She could see Ashurst and Hollie sitting together in the living room. "I could tell by the way Danny was holding Hollie he adored her. I had no concerns. He seemed polite."

She said on another occasion, Leanne told her Ashurst was "brilliant" with Hollie.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates from court

 

[HayLouise]

Day 6:

10.20am

This statement is from Rachel Leanne Jones, who has worked as Asda at Robin Park since September 2010. She didn't know Ashurst, but recognised him from being at Claire House in Ince the day before. "The male was polite and friendly," she said.

"The male and the little girl seemed very happy in each other's company," she said.

She later read about about Hollie's death in an article on Wigan Today's website.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates from court

 

[HayLouise]

Day 6:

10.25am

Leah Bethany Singleton's statement is now being read. She's worked for Max Spielmann for almost a year and often works as Asda in Wigan. Ashurst asked her to take photographs of Hollie and she took around 12. He ordered a package of photographs. He left and returned about 10 minutes later when the pictures were printed.

"His daughter was clearly happy to be in his company. I saw no visible injuries on the little girl," she said.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates from court

 

[HayLouise]

Day 6:

10.30am

Statement from forensic scientist Mark Graham Tyler. He specialises in toxicology. He was sent blood and urine samples taken from Ashurst and asked to check them for alcohol, certain medications and commonly used drugs.

Cocaine was detected in the urine sample. Anti-depressant mirtazapine found in blood and urine. No alcohol found.

The samples were taken more than 11 hours 30 minutes after Hollie was taken to Standish Medical Centre by Ashurst.

Mr Tyler says it's not possible to say when the cocaine was taken, but results indicate it may have been in the previous 24 hours and possibly during the morning of February 28, before the incident.

Anti-depressant mirtazapine was found and low levels of propanolol, a beta blocker prescribed for treatment of hypertension and anxiety. Also found were a number of over the counter medicines at relatively low concentration.

Mr Tyler says Ashurst may have been feeling the effects of the cocaine at the time in question.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates from court

 

[HayLouise]

Day 6:

10.45am

That's the final statement and the jury is being sent home for the day. The case will continue tomorrow at 10am.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates from court

 

[HayLouise]

Day 7:

10.10am

Hollie's mother Leanne Thompson and her family have arrived in the public gallery, as preparations are made for today's hearing to start. There are a couple of people in the upstairs public gallery too, where people here to support Daniel Ashurst are asked to sit.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as jury continues to hear prosecution evidence

 

[HayLouise]

Day 7:

10.20am

The judge and jury have arrived in court and the trial can resume. Prosecutor Guy Gozem QC has called Dr Roger Malcomson to the witness stand. He's a consultant paediatric and peri-natal pathologist in Leicester. The defence have a professor appearing by videolink at the same time.

Dr Malcomson examined Hollie's eyes after the post-mortem examination by Dr Charles Wilson. She had "numerous" haemorrhages.

"The pattern of injury are typical of that seen in trauma, particularly in abusive head trauma in children," he said.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as jury continues to hear prosecution evidence

 

[HayLouise]

Day 7:

10.30am

Dr Malcomson is now being cross-examined by Nina Grahame QC. She's asking about the "triad" which has been mentioned by other medical experts. He explains that having the triad alone is not enough to come to a conclusion about what's happened.

Ms Grahame asks more questions about eyes. Hollie had a peri-macular fold in her right eye from before she died. This is normally expected to be found with retinal haemorrhages, the court hears, and can be indicative of the severity of the trauma rather than what caused it.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as jury continues to hear prosecution evidence

 

[HayLouise]

Day 7:

10.40am

Ms Grahame is asking Dr Malcomson about specific studies involving children who had falls and their injuries. One is a study in America, which has previously been referred to in court, which found a child was taken to A&E in the USA once every six minutes after a stairway-related fall. Several different studies are being discussed.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as jury continues to hear prosecution evidence

 

[HayLouise]

Day 7:

10.50am

They're now talking about how retinal haemorrhages can be found after CPR has taken place, even though they weren't there before. This has been identified in numerous studies. Dr Malcomson's report said guidance indicated it was unlikely the pattern of bleeding in Hollie's eyes was from resuscitation alone.

The jury will now have a break while Ms Grahame consults her expert before completing cross-examination.

Baby Hollie Ashurst murder trial: LIVE updates as jury continues to hear prosecution evidence