Babysitter freed as conviction for child killing ruled unsafe

Published on Thursday 1 May 2008 22:13

A BABYSITTER found guilty of murdering her neighbour's two-year-old son by banging his head against a banister was freed yesterday after appeal court judges ruled her conviction "unsafe".

Lawyers for Suzanne Holdsworth argued new medical evidence showed she was the victim of a miscarriage of justice over the death of Kyle Fisher.

The Court of the Appeal heard the toddler was predisposed to epilepsy and his test showed his brain had abnormalities.

The 2005 conviction of Ms Holdsworth, 37, was judged unsafe by Lord Justice Toulson, Mr Justice Aikens and Judge Michael Baker QC, who granted her bail ahead of a re-trial.

She was expected to be freed from Low Newton prison in County Durham, where she has been serving a life sentence since March 2005.

Last night Kyle's paternal grandmother Jane Whitfield said she was "happy" Holdsworth had been released because she never believed the babysitter was responsible for her grandson's death.

Speaking from the home in Houghton-le-Spring she shared with Kyle's father Jon Taylor, the 47-year-old grandmother of nine, said: "I'm so happy for Suzanne Holdsworth and for her family.

"I was there every day of the trial and I don't think the evidence proved she did it. There are so many questions still to be answered.

"It came out in court that Kyle had been neglected by his mother Clare. I went to see him in the mortuary and I could not see any injuries on his head. It did not look like what they described in court.

"They said he had a dent in his head where it had been battered off the banisters but I could not see it. There was all sorts not mentioned in court which would have been in Suzanne's defence.

"I hope that now everything comes out properly. He was my grandson and I loved him. We need to know and deserve to know what happened."

Ms Holdsworth, a former supermarket worker, was accused of having "snapped" while looking after Kyle, while his mother, 19, was on a night out.

She denied harming Kyle and said he had suffered a fit as they watched television.

She was found guilty at Teeside Crown Court, jailed for life and told she must serve at least ten years before applying for parole.

But Henry Blaxland, for Ms Holdsworth, told the appeal court that doctors at her trial had failed to diagnose Kyle had a "highly unusual brain" which indicated three abnormalities, two of which predisposed him to epilepsy.

Lord Toulson said it was the courts view that if the evidence had been given at the original trial it might have affected the jury's decision.

Her solicitor Campbell Malone said after the ruling: "I think she was crying, but she said she was very happy.

"She was just overwhelmed with emotion.

Her boyfriend, Lee Spencer, added: "It's something we've said all along, that it's been a grave miscarriage of justice."