ONE of two women accused of murdering a toddler told police of the moment she “just knew” the two-year-old was dead because he was “so white”, a court has heard.
Nyomi Fee gave a detailed statement to officers four days after Liam Fee died at a house in Fife on March 22, 2014, jurors heard.
In it, she described how she tried to perform CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) on the child “but it wasn’t working”. Jurors also heard how Ms Fee’s civil partner, Rachel Trelfa, told police she would be forever haunted by a crackling noise coming from a “lifeless” Liam on the day he died.
Liam’s mother, Trelfa, 31, also known as Fee, and Nyomi Fee, 28, are on trial for a 20th day at the High Court in Livingston, where they deny murdering Liam and falsely blaming his death on another young boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
They also plead not guilty to a catalogue of allegations of wilfully ill-treating and neglecting two young boys over a period of more than two years. Police Constable Dorothy Millar, 42, talked the court through a statement she took from Nyomi Fee on March 26 that year in which she told them about the moment she realised Liam was dead.
Nyomi Fee told officers: “I walked around to the front of his buggy and the blanket was half off his face. He was so white, so I pulled the blanket completely off him.
“I picked up his hands and they were just floppy. They were warm. I just knew he was dead because he was so white.
“I screamed, ‘Rachel, Rachel’, she came straight through. She saw Liam and she started screaming.”
Nyomi Fee told how she dialled 999 for an ambulance and said her partner had collapsed on to the floor. She also told officers: “I heard (a young boy in the house) say he had his hands on his mouth and neck, but I’m not sure if he said Liam’s name.”
The accused described performing chest compressions on the toddler while she was on the phone to the ambulance service.
“I just kept doing it over and over but it wasn’t working,” she told police.
She told officers the young boy had “said he strangled Liam” and that she shouted to police who arrived at the house: “Get him out.”
Later, Detective Constable John Murphy, 38, spoke about a statement he took from Rachel Fee, also four days after Liam died.
Rachel Fee said she ran straight to Liam’s room and was “in shock” because “it happened so quick”.She went on: “I saw Nyomi breathing into Liam’s mouth. I don’t know how many times she did this.
“I could hear a crackling noise coming from Liam. I don’t know what it was but it will haunt me forever.”
The trial continues.
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