Madison Horn: Accused lacked ‘feeling or concern’

Police officer John McDiarmid said he spoke to Kevin Horn just minutes after Madison was taken away in an ambulance.

He told the High Court in Glasgow that he been called to Croftangry Road, Kelty at 6.20pm following a report of an injured child.

The officer told the jury that as he arrived there, he saw Madison being carried out of the house by a paramedic and he went inside to talk to Park.

PC McDiarmid said: “There was no asking how she was. His main concern was trying to roll a cigarette. His main concern was having a cigarette.”

Prosecutor Jennifer Bain asked PC McDiarmid what she thought of Park’s demeanor and he replied: “He may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs. He was really lacking any emotion or feeling or concern about the situation.

“He was really calm and chilled out.”

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PC McDiarmid said that Park told him that Madison had hit her head after falling off a bed on which she was jumping.

The officer added: “He told me he had been in the living room and she had been jumping on the bed. He heard a bang and found her. She was unresponsive.

“He said he had carried her out to the living room and put her on the couch and put a pillow under her head.

“He said he had phoned her mother who said not to let her fall asleep and he said he tried to feed her chips but she kept dipping in and out of consciousness.

“He said he went through to make himself food and when he came back through, her lips were blue and he called an ambulance.”

The police officer added that Park told him he then put Madison on the living room floor and performed CPR on her.

He said that, in total, he was with Park for 45 minutes in the house and in his police car. He was asked if Park had ever asked how Madison was and replied: “Not that I’m aware of.”

Earlier, paramedic Paul Cooney described how he and his colleague battled to save Madison.

He said she was wearing pyjamas with what he thought were dinosaurs on them.

Mr Cooney said: “She wasn’t breathing and there was no pulse.”

He said that they carried out CPR and took her by ambulance to the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy. All the way to the hospital, Mr Cooney and his colleague carried out lifesaving techniques on Madison in the back while another paramedic drove.

When asked about Park, Mr Cooney said: “I thought his demeanour was a bit odd. He wasn’t really that upset. I just had a feeling there was something not right there and when the police arrived, I motioned for them to go inside because I felt something was wrong. I felt the police needed to get a better look because we were focusing on the girl.

“I thought he may be under the influence of drink or drugs. It was a gut reaction. I was disgusted myself, and my colleague – that was our opinion.”

Madison died at 10.50pm that night in hospital.

Earlier, the court heard a transcript of the 999 call Park made. The 999 operator asked: “So, tell me, exactly what’s happened?”

Park replied: “Well, I was cleaning the house - she was playing in her room, but her bed must of . . . the screw came out and she’s fell.

“I think she rattled her head - it’s all bruised down the side and everything.”

He added: “She’s only two - her lips have went blue, she’s not breathing . . . she’s not doing nothing.”

Later, Anne Murray, 57, told the court that she heard a “short, piercing scream” coming from the direction of Madison’s home around 5.30pm when she was in her daughter’s back garden with her grandsons.

The trial before judge Michael O’Grady QC continues.

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