"No evidence" Liam Fee accused assaulted
The trial at the High Court in Livingston continues
A woman accused of murdering a toddler with her partner made a catastrophic mistake'' when she failed to get the boy medical help for an injury, but there is no evidence she assaulted him, a jury has heard.
Two-year-old Liam Fee died at a house near Glenrothes, Fife, on March 22, 2014.
Nyomi Fee, 29, and the boy's mother Rachel Fee or Trelfa, 31, deny repeatedly inflicting ''blunt force trauma'' to his head and body and have blamed his death on a young boy who cannot be identified.
At the High Court in Livingston, Fee's lawyer said failure to get Liam's suspected broken leg seen to by doctors and his killing were two separate matters.
Mark Stewart QC told jurors: It was a catastrophic mistake and a catastrophic failure of care.
It's unforgivable, it's cruel. She accepts that.
It merits and brings down upon her the total condemnation of society, but it carries with it the risk that all objectivity be dismissed.''
Mr Stewart said the public could write off'' the pair, but as members of the jury they have taken an oath to apply an open mind to all the matters before them.
He said: There's no evidence offered to you that Nyomi Fee assaulted Liam in any way between March 15 and March 22 2014.
The Crown has not offered you one piece of evidence.
They ask you to make assumptions, to draw inferences, but they offer you no evidence.''
He stated: The unpalatable and difficult truth is that (another boy) was responsible for the injuries that befell Liam.
I don't say that because it's convenient, I say that because that's what the evidence says.''