Man made death threat to girl he put in freezer, court told

A MAN accused of putting a four-year-old girl in a freezer warned his victim he would kill anyone she told, a court heard yesterday.

The girl, now eight, was giving evidence by video link. She told Edinburgh Sheriff Court that Stuart Kitt, 33, lifted her into the freezer cabinet.

Kitt, 33, is charged with dragging the girl by her ankles and placing her in the freezer, to her severe injury and permanent disfigurement. He is also charged with failing to appear in court on 2 December, 2009 and 7 September, 2010.

He has pled not guilty to all the charges.

Fiscal depute Ian Wallace asked the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons: “How was it that you hurt your arms?”

The girl said: “He put me in the freezer and they burned. He just lifted me up and put me in. It was really sore.”

Mr Wallace asked: “Why didn’t you tell anyone what happened?”

She replied: “I was scared.”

He asked: “Did Stuart say anything to you about telling anyone?”

The girl answered: “He said he would kill the person who I told.”

The girl told the court she was left with spots on her face and burns on her arms in the incident. She said she later told her babysitter about who had put her in the freezer, but did not immediately tell her mother.

Defence agent Duncan Hughes then asked the girl: “What Stuart says happened is your mum put your arms in the freezer. Is that what happened?”

The girl replied: “No.”

The girl’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was asked by Mr Hughes if she had put the girl’s arms into the freezer.

She said the accusation was “totally wrong”.

She said she initially thought the marks on her daughter’s arms were caused by an allergic reaction to new cushions she had bought.

She added that she was at work in a pub when the alleged incident took place.

She said: “I noticed she had a rash on her arms. I got a bit panicky and phoned NHS 24.” The mother said she put bandages and cream on her daughter’s arms.

The girl’s mother was contacted by police at her work two days after the alleged incident, and was told her daughter needed urgent medical attention, she said.

She went to her daughter’s babysitter’s house, where the girl was staying at the time. She told her court: “I looked at [my daughter] and she said, ‘Mum, it was Stuart that did it.’”

Mr Hughes also asked the witness if she had argued with her daughter before she left for work on the day of the incident. She replied: “No”.

The hearing, taking place before Sheriff Kenneth MacIver, continues.