The murder trial of 38-year-old Karen Harrington has begun in Cork where she stands accused of killing two-year-old Santina Cawley.
Emergency services were called to an apartment at Elderwood Park on Boreenmanna Road in Cork where she had been staying with her then partner, the father of late Santina Cawley.
Gardai entered the apartment where they found the lifeless body of toddler who had injuries to her head and body.
The child was later pronounced dead at Cork University Hospital.
Prosecuting Senior Counsel Seán Gillane told the jury they would hear evidence from a neighbour who would say he heard a child crying, and he could hear Karen Harrington mocking, taunting and terrorising the child sometime after four that morning, RTE reports.
The trial is expected to last around four weeks.
Some on social media have expressed concerns that if Harrington is found guilty of murder, she will face little time in jail as it is alleged that the Irish justice system is severely lenient on female offenders, particularly those who murder children.
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