Mum and partner go on trial accused of murdering young son in Fife
A mother and her partner have gone on trial accused of murdering her two-year-old son.
A mother and her partner have gone on trial accused of murdering her two-year-old son.
Rachel Trelfa or Fee, 31, and Nyomi Fee, 28, deny murdering toddler Liam in Fife in March 2014.
The women also plead not guilty to a catalogue of allegations of wilfully ill-treating and neglecting two other young boys, who cannot be named for legal reasons, over a period of more than two years.
They further deny attempting to defeat the ends of justice following the toddler's death.
The pair are accused of falsely telling others, including police, that one of the other young boys was responsible for Liam's death.
Trelfa and Fee went on trial at the High Court in Livingston on Monday after a jury of eight women and seven men was selected.
Judge Lord Burns told them: You will hear during the course of the evidence, evidence which will be distressing and which is bound to give rise to strong emotions.''
He told jurors that they must nevertheless remain impartial and dispassionate'' throughout.
The couple face eight separate charges.
The murder charge alleges that they assaulted Liam at a house in Fife, on various occasions between March 15 and March 22, 2014.
Trelfa and Fee repeatedly inflicted blunt force trauma to his head and body'' causing injuries so severe that he died on March 22 that year, it is claimed.
Between that date and April 30 2014, the two are said to have taken steps to avoid detection, arrest and prosecution, thereby attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
That charge includes an allegation that they falsely told emergency services workers, police and friends and family that one of the young boys they are accused of neglecting was responsible for Liam's death.
Another charge denied by the women alleges that they assaulted Liam on various occasions between January 2012 and March 2014.
Prosecutors also claim that between similar dates, the pair wilfully ill-treated or neglected Liam. It is alleged they left him in his pushchair and bed for prolonged periods of time, put a blanket over his face, taped socks to his hands and left him in a darkened room, failing to provide him with adequate exercise or physical and mental stimulation.
It is further claimed they failed to provide him with adequate food and, in March 2014, failed to get him adequate medical attention.
Trelfa and Fee deny the charges of harming two young boys between January 2012 and March 2014.
In relation to the first child, there are 23 separate allegations, including one that the pair made him stand naked under a cold shower for lengthy periods as a punishment for wetting the bed.
Trelfa and Fee deny all the charges against them.