Mum weeps as she tells court of secret recording

Unexplained injuries sustained by boy led mother to hide mobile phone

A mother wept as she told a court how she used her mobile phone to secretly record a man who allegedly attempted to murder her 11-month-old baby boy.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told jurors that she recorded Ryan Devaney after her son started acquiring a series of unexplained injuries.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard yesterday how she had allowed 28-yearold Devaney to care for the child at her house in Dundee on a number of previous occasions.

But she said that the infant had been left with black eyes, a carpet burn and red marks on his face.

The woman told the court: “Alarm bells were ringing. I didn’t ever think Ryan would hit him. But I had a feeling that something wasn’t right.

“I put the phone on record and hid it under the bed.”

The woman was giving evidence on the second day of proceedings against Devaney, of Provost Road, Dundee.

The court heard that she allowed him to start looking after her child in September 2015.

However, the boy started to display injuries. On one occasion, he was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee for treatment.

The mum said she became suspicious and decided to make a secret voice recording of Devaney interacting with the child.

The recording was played to jurors who heard the sound of a Mickey Mouse cartoon being played on a television. They could also hear the sound of a baby crying.

The mum told the court that when she returned back from her shopping trip, she listened to the tape and decided to phone the police.

Prosecutors claim Devaney bit the infant and put a blanket over his head before pushing him on the body. Prosecutors claim Devaney’s action caused the child to fall to the ground.

He is also accused of shaking the little boy and inflicting blunt force trauma on him.

Devaney is said to have assaulted the child at a house in Dundee, an Asda car park in Milton of Craigie, Dundee, and a house in Angus on various occasions between September and October 12, 2015.

The Crown claims that Devaney attempted to murder the child.

Devaney is facing 10 charges in all, including assaulting the mother, breaching a bail order, behaving in a threatening manner, assaulting a man and possessing “extreme pornographic images depicting in an explicit and realistic way sexual activity involving animals and humans.” He denies all charges. The trial continues.