Mother charged with murdering toddler daughter
A DUBLIN mother yesterday appeared in court charged with the murder of her three-year-old daughter.
Emer Cannon, 42, was before Bray District Court over the killing of little Zoe Whitford on February 10.
The charge was upgraded from causing serious harm to Zoe to murder. She was remanded in custody to appear again next week.
Detective Declan Hartley, of Shankill station, gave evidence of arrest and caution. The book of evidence is due to be served next month. Zoe died in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin just days after she received treatment from paramedics when they were called to her home at Aubrey Grove.
An inquest in May was told the toddler had suffered a reduced supply of oxygen to her brain.
Zoe’s father William Whitford said in his deposition that he had formally identified his daughter’s body in the hospital morgue. Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane agreed to a Garda request to adjourn the inquest until December.
‘There is a criminal investigation ongoing. The file is at a very advanced stage,’ Detective Inspector Martin Creighton told Dublin Coroner’s Court.
A post mortem conducted jointly by State Pathologist Professor Marie Cassidy and Crumlin Hospital pathologist Dr Maureen O’Sullivan found the cause of death was cerebral hypoxia.
There were heartbreaking scenes at her funeral in St Anne’s Church in Shankill as Zoe’s small white coffin was carried to the altar to the Eric Clapton song Tears In Heaven sung by a soloist.
Before requiem Mass, Zoe’s father William addressed mourners from the altar.
In his eulogy, he said of Zoe: ‘Her wish was that everybody know how happy her short life was. She loved going to Montessori. But most of all Zoe loved her family.’
Prayers were also said for the recipients of Zoe’s organs.