21-year old Clydebank man convicted of trying to kill a 9-month old baby
William Robertson denied fracturing the infant's skull, instead claiming she fell off the sofa
Last updated 14th Nov 2018
A man has been convicted of attempting to murder a nine-month-old baby girl. Twenty-one-year-old William Robertson launched a violent attack on the defenceless baby which left her with a fractured skull and massive bruising to her forehead and one ear.
The attempted murder took place at his flat at Jean Armour Drive, Clydebank, on September 9, 2017 while he was caring for the infant, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Robertson claimed that the baby had sustained her injuries in a fall from a couch. However medical experts told the High Court in Glasgow that her horrific injuries were caused by more than one incident.
In evidence Robertson insisted he was sleeping and was wakened by the baby falling off the couch.
He denied ever hitting the baby and added: “I'm not a monster.”
Robertson also denied he was drunk and angry that night, although he admitted having downed a can of 'Dragon Soop' and some Mad Dog 20/20.
He claimed he was prepared to undergo a lie detector test to prove his innocence and told the jury: “ I asked for a lie detector test and for a hypnotist. I tried to get on the Jeremy Kyle Show for a lie detector test.”
But, the jury did not believe him and found him guilty of attempting to murder the baby by repeatedly striking her on the head and body or by means unknown to the prosecutor.
Judge Norman Ritchie QC deferred sentence on Robertson for background reports and will sentence him next month.
The court heard that Robertson ran to his mother's nearby house at 4am with the seriously injured baby in his arms.
His sister Juliette Robertson, 32, a manager and mother-of-two, dialled 999 and she told the operator : “Oh my f***ing God. I've just seen the back of her head, it's really bad. I think it's her skull. It's misshapen.”
During the phone call the baby could be heard groaning as she regained consciousness and Robertson was crying.
Ms Robertson told the jury that the baby had bruising to her forehead and a misshapen skull and added: “She had lines - bruises - on her face that looked like finger marks.”
An ambulance was called and paramedic Grant Kilpatrick said when he arrived the baby was lying naked on a towel on the sofa.
He was asked by prosecutor Greg Farrell: “Did she have any injuries to her face,” and he replied: “Yes some dried and some fresh blood on her nose and mouth area, lines, marks across her cheek. I don't know what caused them, but I have a suspicion.”
He added: “There was also swelling to her forehead and there was a large swelling at the back of her head. The baby was lying very still. She was awake was very, very quiet and not responding to us or her surroundings.”
At the Royal Children's Hospital the baby was found to have suffered a fractured skull and extensive bruising.
The child's mother, aged 19, said that Robertson phoned her to tell her her: daughter was in hospital and added “He was trying to sound upset. I could tell it was put on by the tone of his voice. It was as if he was pretending to cry.”
The mum told the jury that when she arrived at the hospital around 4.20am Robertson was sitting on a chair and her daughter was screaming and crying.
She said: “He was sitting next to my daughter. He was not trying to comfort her. He said 'It's not what it looks like.'”
The witness told the court she believed that Robertson was drunk and added: “I could smell drink off him and his eyes were just all over the place.”
She said that Robertson gave her three different accounts of how the baby came to be injured. In the first he said she fell off the sofa head first.
The child, who is now two, has made a full recovery and attends nursery.