Irish nanny could be on bail during trial


Aisling Brady McCarthy

By Jim Smith
letters@irshecho.com

BOSTON --- The Irish nanny who is accused of murdering a young girl in her care in 2013 may be released on bail today after being in prison while awaiting trial for more than two years.

Aisling Brady McCarthy's trial has been delayed once again based after Middlesex Superior Court Judge Maureen Hogan's decision last week to order the medical examiner to "re-review" all of the medical evidence in the case, some of which may shed new light on possible causes of the child's fatal injuries.

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If McCarthy – a native of County Cavan - is released on bail for the duration of the upcoming trial, she will likely be ordered to wear a GPS bracelet.

She has been held on $500,000 bail since she was first incarcerated at Framingham State Prison in January 2013, this following the death of one-year-old Rehma Sabir.

Doctors at Children's Hospital in Boston discovered retinal hemorrhaging and concluded at the time that the child's injuries stemmed from "abusive head trauma," but McCarthy's lawyers claim that she had no role in the infant's death and that other medical factors may have played a role.

Investigators had found blood-stained items at the apartment, including baby wipes, a blanket and a pillow. The stains were evidently from internal injuries and not from lacerations.

Defense lawyers have argued in pre-trial conferences that doctors had given insufficient weight to other possible causes of death, such as old injuries the child may have received while out of the country in the care of her family.

The 36-year-old nanny was living illegally in the U.S. at the time of the child's death, having overstayed a 90-day visitor visa which had been issued in 2002.

After doctors at Children's Hospital determined that the baby had suffered "abusive head trauma," Dr. Alice Newton, medical director of the Child Protection Team, said in court documents that these could be caused by "violent shaking" or by "impact to the head, either by directly striking the head or causing the head to strike another object or surface."

One piece of evidence discovered at the apartment was a missing piece of wall plaster next to the baby's changing table, which was consistent with forceful impact against the wall by the corner of the table.

During the arraignment in early February 2013, McCarthy's lawyer, Melinda Thompson, said that her client "has no idea what happened to this child."

 

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