Toddler murder trial: Kimberley Hainey 'lied' about son

A mother accused of murdering her son lied for months about the progress he was making, a court has heard.

Giving evidence at the trial of her niece Kimberley Hainey, Ann McNeilage said 23-month-old Declan had been dead for a long time when she found him.

Ms Hainey, 37, of Johnstone, denies murdering Declan, concealing his body and pretending that he was still alive to prevent police investigating.

The High Court in Glasgow heard the body was found in Ms Hainey's flat.

Mrs McNeilage, 71, went with her sister Elizabeth Rodden and her brother-in-law John Rodden to the flat on 30 March 2010.

She was asked by advocate depute Andrew Stewart QC what state the flat was in and she replied: "It was as if the binmen had went in and emptied the bins. I couldn't speak."

She told the court she went to Declan's bedroom while her brother-in-law went into the living room and added: "When I found Declan he had been there a long time."
'All lies'

Mrs McNeilage told the court she had not seen Declan since his first birthday 11 months earlier, but Ms Hainey had told her stories about how he was doing at nursery.

She added: "She said he was making a bulb, she also said they were teaching him potty training."
Continue reading the main story
“Start Quote

She told me she was happy and that Declan was the only man in her life”

End Quote Ann McNeilage Aunt

Mrs McNeilage also described how Ms Hainey said she was going to complain about a nursery worker who she claimed had long nails and was scratching Declan.

She told the jury that when she saw Declan's body she realised the stories were untrue, and said: "All these stories she was telling us were lies, all lies."

Under cross-examination by defence QC Edward Targowski, Mrs McNeilage was asked what sort of mother Ms Hainey was and she replied: "She adored the baby and the baby adored her. There was a bond between them. There was no doubt about that."

Although she did not see Declan after his first birthday in April 2009, Mrs McNeilage said that she phoned her niece in October 2009 and said she heard Declan in the background.

When asked why neither she nor Ms Hainey's mother had visited Declan, she replied: "It wasn't encouraged. We did arrange to go a couple of times and Kim would cancel and say she was going out.

"We were led to believe he was at nursery. Kim was a private person.

"She told me she was happy and that Declan was the only man in her life. She was happy in her flat. I had no concerns about his safety."
Left unattended

Ms Hainey is accused of assaulting, willfully ill-treating and neglecting her son Declan over a 19-month period between September 2008 and March 2010.

The Crown has charged her with either murdering her son, or alternatively, of neglecting him by failing to provide medical care for him whereby his physical and psychological development were impaired.

It is alleged that she left her son alone and unattended in the house for excessive periods of time, left him in wet and soiled nappies for excessive periods of time, caused him to be exposed to heroin and amphetamine, caused him to ingest these drugs and failed to provide medical aid and care for him.

The Crown also alleges that Ms Hainey pretended that Declan was alive in an attempt to defeat the ends of justice between July 2009 and March 2010.

Ms Hainey is also accused of possessing heroin and supplying the class A drug to a Renfrew man on various occasions between December 2009 and March 2010.

She denies all the charges against her.

The trial before judge Lord Woolman, which is expected to last about seven weeks, continues.

Surfers Paradise Property Managers
how to make websites