This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/tees/7790362.stm
The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 2 | Version 3 |
---|---|
Babysitter not guilty of murder | |
(41 minutes later) | |
A babysitter who spent three years in prison for the murder of a neighbour's two-year-old son has been found not guilty at a retrial. | |
Suzanne Holdsworth had been accused of banging Kyle Fisher's head against a banister in Hartlepool in July 2004. | |
Ms Holdsworth, 38, now of Boggart Hill Drive, Leeds, was convicted in 2005. | |
However, doubts were raised about her conviction by journalist John Sweeney in a report for BBC Newsnight and the conviction was quashed in May. | |
The jury at the retrial at Teesside Crown Court deliberated for two days before returning the not guilty verdict. | |
The mother-of-two was originally convicted of the murder in March 2005 and jailed for life. | |
Kyle: "Unlikely to have suffered massive blow to head" Freed babysitter's jail torment | Kyle: "Unlikely to have suffered massive blow to head" Freed babysitter's jail torment |
She was released from prison earlier this year after serving three years. | She was released from prison earlier this year after serving three years. |
During Ms Holdsworth's original trial she was accused of repeatedly banging Kyle's head against a wooden banister with as much force as a 60mph crash after losing her temper. | |
The Newsnight programme interviewed leading neuro-pathologist Dr Wainey Squier who later gave evidence for the defence in the retrial. | |
She said it was "unlikely" Kyle had suffered a massive blow to the head. | She said it was "unlikely" Kyle had suffered a massive blow to the head. |
Standing next to Ms Holdsworth outside the court on Thursday, her partner Lee Spencer said: "This case has always been about Kyle, who was a loving child, a little boy, who Suzanne's always loved and helped look after. | |
'Terrible experience' | |
"We know his family deeply loved him and miss him. | |
"Sadly we now know that he had some bad medical features that led to his sudden collapse and death. | |
"We hope that this knowledge will help his family come to terms with his death. | |
"This has been a terrible experience for Suzanne and our family and we now just want to try and pick up the pieces of our lives together." |