Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
I heard Poppi cry out but it was different, louder... more of a scream
Tragic tot’s mum speaks at inquest
THE mother of tragic tot Poppi Worthington wept yesterday as she told of how she heard her scream shortly before she died.
The second inquest into the death of the 13-month-old, who she described as “bubbly and funny”, was also played a harrowing recording of the 999 call she made after her collapse.
Poppi’s mum spoke to an operator as then-partner Paul Worthington – alleged to have sexually assaulted their daughter that night – tried to save her life.
The mum, who cannot be named, was giving evidence in public for the first time. She said she was sleeping downstairs at home in Barrow, Cumbria, when she heard the scream in the early hours of December 12, 2012.
She said: “I heard Poppi was awake and she cried out. I recognised it was Poppi but the cry was different, louder, more of a scream. It did not last long.”
The Kendal inquest heard the toddler was tired or unwell before going to bed. The next thing her mother remembered was Paul coming down with Poppi, who was “blue and not breathing”. She was allowed to leave the inquest room as the 10-minute 999 recording was played.
In it, she says: “My baby is not breathing, she is going blue. My partner has come downstairs with the baby. She has not been well for the past couple of days.” The mum then relays instructions from the operator to Paul, including how to give resuscitation. She says: “Keep going. Pump. F***ing hell. Please Paul.”
The inquest heard Poppi was not in her pyjama bottoms when the crew arrived and her nappy was off. Paramedic Nicola Lynn told how Paul said in the ambulance “She’s gone isn’t she?”, adding: “He was shell-shocked.” She said she also noticed blood on the sheet.
Gillian Irving QC, for Poppi’s mother, asked: “This child was dead when you got there, wasn’t she?” She replied: “She certainly looked like she was dead.”
Paul, 49, is due to give evidence tomorrow. In January 2016, family court judge Lord Justice Peter Jackson ruled that he had “probably” sexually assaulted Poppi, saying penetrative trauma was the only sensible explanation for her “significant bleeding”.
In a statement to police after Poppi’s death, her mother had described Paul as a loving dad and her “best friend”. In cross-examination by her counsel, she said she was unaware of allegations he sexually assaulted Poppi at that time.
Poppi died at 7am in Furness Hospital. A postmortem also found two fractures to her right leg. The first inquest lasted seven minutes and took no evidence.
Paul denies any wrongdoing and tried to be excused from the new hearing after death threats. Last year, the CPS said there was “insufficient evidence” to charge him with any offence. In March, the IPCC said the probe on Poppi’s death was “unstructured and disorganised”.
David Roberts, senior coroner for Cumbria, is expected to adjourn over Christmas before giving his formal conclusions on January 15. The
hearing continues.