North Antrim woman blames co-defendant for inflicting catastrophic injuries on young child

Giving often tearful evidence on her own behalf at Newry Crown Court, Amanda Fulton blamed her husband Christopher for inflicting the injuries which experts said were akin to those a child might sustain in a car crash.

She told defence SC Seamus McNeill she considered the timeline put forward by numerous experts that the young child sustained his injuries in the 12-hour period before he was admitted to hospital on November 7 2019.

“What did that lead you to think?” the senior barrister enquired, and Mrs Fulton told him: “That there was only one possible person that could have done this to the little boy.”

“Who was that,” asked Mr McNeill.

Wiping away her tears and with her shoulders shaking with emotion, Mrs Fulton replied simply: “Chris.”

The Fultons, both aged 35 and from Rockfield Gardens in Mosside, near Ballymoney, are accused of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, causing or allowing the child to suffer significant physical harm and a charge of child cruelty in that they allegedly wilfully neglected the child in a manner likely to cause him suffering, alleged to have been committed on dates between November 5-8 2019.

The couple face a further allegation of child cruelty but this final charge is alleged to have been committed between October 17 and November 2, and prosecution KC Toby Hedworth has explained that is because some of the child’s rib fractures were found to be older and already healing.

The jury has heard that when the “very young child” was admitted to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, doctors found that he had sustained a multitude of injuries which threatened his life including:​

l Fractured skull with associated bleeding to the brain and retinal bleeding;

l Twenty-six rib fractures;

l Fractures to both thigh bones;

l Fractures to both shin bones;

l Fractured wrist;

l Multiple liver lacerations.​

When he formally opened the trial three weeks ago, Mr Hedworth told the jury the Crown case is that the child was subjected to significant blunt force trauma whether by a punch with a closed fist or potentially being thrown or dropped on to a hard surface, shaking which was violent enough to cause fractures, and compression with sufficient force that would fracture multiple ribs.

The senior barrister explained how the prosecution believe one or other of the defendants inflicted the injuries at a time and place when their co-accused was “in close proximity” and would have known the young child was being harmed yet they did nothing to intervene.

The jury has heard evidence from numerous medical expert witnesses describe the injuries suffered by the child as “severe and significant” and were so serious that he would have died without medical intervention.

Yesterday’s claim by Mrs Fulton is the first time in almost four years that she has hypothesised her husband may be the culprit.

Last week the jury heard that during a series of police interviews, she maintained “I don’t have any explanation” for how the child came to suffer such a constellation of injuries.

The trial continues today when the defendant will be cross-examined by her husband’s barrister.

At hearing.