A toddler allegedly tortured and killed by her fat
A toddler allegedly tortured and killed by her father’s girlfriend had injuries up to four weeks old when she died, a court heard.
Five-year-old Annastacia Williams already had a fractured breast bone before Christine Green, 25, allegedly battered her to death, an expert has claimed.
She also had a badly twisted arm – an injury which must have been inflicted by an adult, the Old Bailey heard.
Annastacia was bitten, punched and stabbed with a fork during nine months of abuse before Green banged her head on a hard object, it is claimed.
But Green denies abusing and killing the child, who had been brought to London from Jamaica to live ‘a better life’.
Dr Karen Daly told the jury some of Annastacia’s injuries showed signs of having been caused ‘significantly before’ she died from brain damage in September last year.
She said a fracture half way between the toddler’s left shoulder and breast showed signs of calcification – the body’s bone-healing process.
Dr Daly, who studied x-rays of Annastacia after she died in Great Ormond Street hospital, said: ‘The injury must be between two and four weeks old because of the amount of healing activity.
‘You don’t normally see calcification in healing bones until at least 10 days.
This injury happened significantly before she died.
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She said Annastacia’s right forearm showed signs of having been twisted with ‘considerable force’.
‘There is tissue on the forearm containing a lot of blood.
‘When that tissue is ripped away, a gap forms between it and the bone and that gap fills with blood.
This is what has happed to Annastacia.
‘It occurs when a twisting force, which is a lot stronger than the way in which a ”Chinese arm burn” is inflicted, is applied.
‘The injury is not very common.
Of the hundreds of child injuries I have treated, I have only ever seen one or two of these.
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The doctor told jurors Annastacia would have felt ‘considerable pain’ when her arm was twisted.
She added: ‘The amount of pain afterwards may not have been great unless she was grabbed or was trying to lift something.
‘This injury was between 10 days and two weeks old.
I would say it is a non-accidental injury.
‘Most injuries to children’s forearms are fractures from falls.
This type of injury is far less common.
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Asked if another child could have damaged Annastacia’s arm by swinging her around, Dr Daly said: ‘No, unless the child was the size of an adult.
I don’t think another child would be capable.
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Annastacia, who lived with Green and her father, Kenneth Williams, 31, in Sutterton Street, Holloway, died on September 10, 2002.
Williams, 31, is alleged to have known his lover, Green, was abusing the tot.
The court has heard that doctors suspected child abuse but she was buried because they had insufficient evidence.
Police later had to exhume the tiny body when suspicions were raised over x-rays which showed brain injuries.
The horrific catalogue of abuse ended last September when she is said to have murdered the child by slamming her head into a hard object.
The court has heard she was transformed from a happy, loving youngster to a ‘lonely and unhappy child’.
Green, now living in Demick Road, Croydon, denies murdering Annastacia on September 10, 2002.
She also denies cruelty between February 1 and September 10.
Williams denies cruelty to the toddler between the same dates after effectively turning a blind eye to the abuse administered by his partner.
Both also deny cruelty to a seven-year-old girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, between February 1 and September 10.
The trial continues.
ends
