Fife baby murder accused appears at high court

Buckhaven: Five-month-old Hayley Davidson died in hospital from injuries

A Fife man accused of killing a baby in Buckhaven almost two years ago has made a further appearance at the High Court in Glasgow.

Gordon Mckay, of Buckhaven, is accused of murdering five-monthold Hayley Davidson in February 2016, and is due to stand trial next month.

It has been alleged the 37-year-old assaulted the child at addresses in the town between September 9 2015 and February 14 2016.

Mckay denies the charges and was present at a preliminary hearing in Glasgow where he again tabled not guilty pleas.

He is alleged to have bitten the tot and bent and compressed her body in assaults on various occasions during her life. He is also accused of repeatedly shaking her and inflicting trauma and violence on her head and body by unknown means.

Hayley was so severely injured, according to the indictment against Mckay, that she died in hospital on February 17 2016.

A trial date of February 16 2018 had previously been set but some doubt has now been cast over that after Lord Mulholland agreed to continue a preliminary hearing at the latest High Court session.

Yesterday’s hearing was adjourned for around 20 minutes after Mckay experienced problems getting to court due to lengthy tailbacks on the M8 as a result of snow.

When proceedings did start the court heard from a solicitor acting for Mckay that new material had come to light on Friday in relation to GP, health and social work records, and that the defence team needed more time to “digest” the contents of that material.

“His agent tells me that there is material that he has looked at that might require the defence to postpone the trial,” the solicitor explained.

The Crown had no opposition to the latest delay, describing it as a “sensible approach”, with a further preliminary hearing due to take place next Friday.

The court has previously heard that some evidence has already been agreed before the trial, for which a special defence of incrimination has been lodged, including details of nonaccidental injury.

The court has also been told in previous hearings how Mckay’s defence team has struggled to find expert witnesses available to give evidence, with Lord Beckett expressing frustration at an earlier hearing in August when Mckay’s lawyer sought a further continuation of the case for that reason.

Up to 55 witnesses could be called to give evidence during the trial, which is expected to take up to four weeks. Mckay’s bail has been continued. csmith@thecourier.co.uk

Hayley Davidson died in February 2016 from her severe injuries.