The parents of a 10-week-old baby girl found with 19 rib fractures in a Tottenham flat have been charged with her murder.
Gatekeepers News reports that Darren Hurrell, 25, of Meadow Lane in Derby, and Lauren Saint-George, 25, of Bonnington House in Enfield will appear for trial at Wood Green Crown Court on Monday, June 13.
Hurrell and Saint-George, have both been charged with the murder of a victim under one year old. They were also charged with manslaughter and assault.
Their daughter, Lily-Mai Hurrell Saint George, had been found unresponsive in a flat in Tottenham on January 31, 2018.
She was rushed to North Middlesex Hospital in a ‘critical and life-threatening condition’ and was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital where she died two days later.
A post-mortem examination in St Pancras Coroners Court in February ruled that Lily-Mai had been ‘unlawfully killed’. She was found with 19 rib fractures, a fracture to the leg and multiple bleeds to the brain. The couple’s daughter had been born two months prematurely and had spent two months in hospital care before being released to her parents on January 25.
During the inquest, the coroner established that Lily-Mai’s injuries were consistent with ‘shaking type injuries’, and that health professionals had reportedly voiced their concerns before the baby was discharged from the hospital.
Senior coroner Mary Hassell said: “I have heard the evidence of several professionals who were charged with the care of Lily Mai, the doctors and nurses at Barnet Hospital, who were extremely concerned about her and that they did not believe it was safe for her to be discharged in the care of her parents.
“There were other parents who were of the same view. And yet Haringey Children’s Services did facilitate that discharge and that is ultimately bewildering to me.
“I will make prevention of future deaths report to Haringey Council.
“This is a very, very sad story and I’m afraid it is not the first time that a story has been told.”
The case had initially been reviewed by the Crown Prosecution Service but due to insufficient evidence, they had decided not to pursue charges against either parent. But, the couple were arrested on April 16 2022, and charged with Lily-Mai’s murder.
