Newborn’s injuries ‘suspicious’
Trauma suffered by a threeweek-old baby, who died of pneumonia and sepsis, was consistent with several physical assaults, a court heard.
Bailey Smyth-Osborne had a fractured leg and bruising to his head and private parts - injuries described as “unusual and suspicious” by consultant paediatrician Dr Uday Kumar.
Pathologist Dr Nathaniel Cary told a jury at Maidstone Crown Court the newborn’s injuries indicated levels of trauma “beyond rough handling”.
Parents Marina Smyth, 21, and Michael Osborne, 22, deny causing or allowing physical harm to Bailey at their home, in Walters Farm Road, Ton- bridge between November 16 and December 6 last year.
Dr Cary said Bailey’s head could have been hit with an object such as a hand or might have come into contact with an edge. He told the court: “A third party has been involved in some way.”
He suggested the “severe” break to the baby’s leg could have been caused by a twisting, yanking motion or by being swung by the feet.
Bailey’s injuries were in keeping with physical assaults and were not the result of a single act, he added.
Smyth, now of Oxford Gardens, Maidstone, and Osborne, now of Bybrook Road, Kennington, could not explain how they happened.
But Dr Cary said none of the injuries contributed in any way to Bailey’s death, which was caused by pneumonia and sepsis. The trial continues.