Dungannon: Mother charged over child's death 'lied to police'

A mother accused of causing her toddler's death lied to police because she feared another child would be taken from her, a court has heard.

Jade Dempsey changed her account of how two-year-old Ali Jayden Doyle came to be left in the care of the man charged with her murder, prosecutors said.

The girl died in hospital on 6 August after sustaining head injuries in Dungannon, County Tyrone.

Ms Dempsey, 24, has also been charged with perverting the course of justice.

Her partner Darren Armstrong, 32, is accused of the girl's murder and perverting the course of justice.

Paramedics found Ali unconscious at Mr Dempsey's house at Park Avenue in Dungannon.

She was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast where she later died.

Ms Dempsey, of Sycamore Drive in Dungannon, was at the High Court on Friday seeking bail.

Ms Dempsey initially told police she had gone to Mr Armstrong's house to return a bank card, leaving Ali and her one-year-old son there while she retraced her steps to look for a dropped dummy.

She said that during the search her partner phoned to say the girl had stopped breathing.

When she arrived back at the house, Mr Armstrong said Ali fell and struck her head against a fireplace after being hit with a toy by her younger brother.

A prosecutor said Ms Dempsey's co-accused had been prohibited from unsupervised contact with the children.

"It turns out that the initial version of events Ms Dempsey gave to police was in fact completely wrong," she said.

"She indicated that she had not told the full truth but was going to tell police exactly what had happened on 6 August."

Ms Dempsey later said she actually planned to travel to Belfast that day to buy a buggy, leaving her son and daughter with Mr Armstrong in contravention of social services care arrangements.

Upon receiving Mr Armstrong's call, the court was told Ms Dempsey had "screamed at him to get an ambulance".

"At one point he told her that he had used water on the child, and in fact her hair was wet when the ambulance called at the house."

The court was told neighbours had heard children crying and screaming in the property.

It also heard Mr Armstrong allegedly texted Ms Dempsey to say the one-year-old was "melting my head".

The prosecutor said Ms Dempsey understood her planned trip to Belfast went against specific requests to keep her children away from Mr Armstrong.

"She admitted that she lied in her initial account to police because she was afraid of social services taking (her son) off her."

Prosecutors opposed Ms Dempsey's application for bail because the 24-year-old, originally from the Republic of Ireland, was a flight risk.

They also raised concerns about her safety due to social media comments about the case.

"The view of local police in Dungannon is that were this lady to return to that address there could potentially be trouble arising from it," the prosecutor said.

Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan adjourned the bail application and said Ms Dempsey might be released from custody if safe and undisclosed living arrangements in Northern Ireland could be found.

He said: "This lady could be at risk by being bailed to her previous address."

He was told Ms Dempsey will seek permission to attend her daughter's funeral, expected to be held at a family plot in Dublin when examinations are completed.

The court heard that the child's body had been retained by the Coroner's Office after Mr Armstrong requested a defence post-mortem.

It is expected to take place next week.