Pictured above: Sandra Higgins outside Dublin Criminal Court
Registered child minder Sandra Higgins (34) of The Beeches, Drumgola Wood, Cavan, pleaded not guilty at Dublin Criminal Court to intentionally/recklessly causing serious harm to a ten month old baby girl at her home on March 28 2012.
The mother of the girl who is now four years old, testified that her daughter was fine on the morning that she was dropped off at Sandra’s home on March 28 2012 and that she had received a phone call from Ms Higgins to say that she was in hospital and that she had had some sort of fit or seizure.
The mother of the child, who cannot be named to protect the child’s identity said that when she arrived at the hospital her baby was unconscious, she said: “She was fine all day, I was very upset, I couldn’t believe it”.
The jury heard that at around 4:30 pm that day, Ms Higgins brought the baby to A&E in Cavan General Hospital.
The baby had bruising to the head and face and bleeding around the brain. Medical experts said that retinal haemorrhaging suffered by the infant was consistent with violent shaking that was not accidental.
The trial is set to run for six days before Judge Patricia Ryan and a jury of eight men and four women.