Court told of web searches on phones of Liam murder accused

Mobile phones surrendered to police by the two women accused or murdering Liam Fee contained web pages found using questions like: 'Can you die from a broken bone?', a jury heard.
Rachael Trelfa or Fee with her civil partner Nyomi Fee, right. Picture: SWNSRachael Trelfa or Fee with her civil partner Nyomi Fee, right. Picture: SWNS
Rachael Trelfa or Fee with her civil partner Nyomi Fee, right. Picture: SWNS

The handset belonging to Liam’s mother Rachel Trelfa or Fee was used to Google: “How long can you live with a broken bone?” three days before the toddler was found dead with a broken arm and leg.

The day before the two-year-old was allegedly killed by the Rachel and her civil partner Nyomi Fee, she also searched for answers to the questions: “How long can you go to prison?”; “Can wives b in prison together?” and “Can lesbians who are married hot (sic) to jail together?”

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The search history in Nyomi Fee’s phone contained a Google search for: “How do you die of a broken hip?” and a Yahoo Answers query asking: “Why does a broken hip sometimes lead to death?” the High Court at Livingston was told.

It also contained the search terms: “pain medication for toddlers” and “Tramadol –morphine for children”, all entered the same day that Rachel Fee was searching for answers to similar questions the jury was told.

Rachel, 31, and Nyomi, 29, originally from Ryton, Tyne and Wear, deny murdering tragic toddler Liam by repeatedly inflicting blunt trauma to his head and body at the flat they shared near Glenrothes, Fife, on March 22 2014.

They also deny attempting to defeat the ends of justice by blaming a seven-year-old boy for the crime, as well as a 
catalogue of assault and neglect charges involving Liam and two other children in their care over a two-year period.

The jury has heard medical evidence that Liam died from a ruptured heart probably caused by a blow to his abdomen.

Giving evidence yesterday, Evita O’Malley, 38, a major crime analyst with Police Scotland, told the jury she had analysed 3,000 pages of data downloaded from the couple’s smart phones by the cyber crime unit in Fife.

She said significant data recovered including internet search history, SMS and instant message content, voice call logs and images.

On 17 March, she found Google search records on Rachel Fee’s phone including: “If I can put any presher (sic) on my leg at all what could I have done?” followed by: “How can I put my hip back in p?”; “Is my hip out of place?” and on 18 March: “How long can a broken leg take to heal?”

Judge Lord Burns adjourned the trial and told the jury to return on Tuesday morning when the accused will be asked to decide if they wish to give evidence in their defence.

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