Mum who murdered a toddler blames her own son for the little girl's death

A pregnant mother-of-four accused of murdering an 18-month-old toddler who had been placed in her care by a local authority has blamed her own son for her death. Kandyce Downer said her 17-year-old son was mainly responsible for the "day-to-day care" of little Keegan Downer, who died after sustaining a series of terrible injuries. 

Downer claimed she was too tired with a pregnancy and medication for high blood pressure to look after her herself.

Asked by prosecutor Nigel Power QC: "Who's the prime candidate amongst them?

A tearful Downer replied: "My eldest."

A Birmingham Crown Court jury also heard on Thursday that on finding her 18-month-old "unwell" in her cot, she delayed calling 999 and instead got in her car to dump the child's old blood-spotted mattress near a skip, on September 5 last year.

Born in March 2014 to a heroin-addict mother, Keegan was taken into care and placed with Downer as the legal guardian in January 2015.

The 35-year-old, who was a full-time business student with four children of her own, further admitted leaving Keegan alone in the youngster's bedroom to take her natural daughter out on the day of the toddler's death.

Downer, giving evidence in her defence, told jurors that when on the way to hospital in an ambulance one of the paramedics shouted at her saying: "You left your daughter alone?"

A post-mortem examination revealed the child had suffered a catalogue of more than 120 separate injuries, both old and new, across her body.

Keegan also had an untreated spiral leg fracture, leaving the youngster with one leg shorter than the other, and had suffered a traumatic head or spine injury, which was at least several days old.

Downer's house in Beckbury Road, Weoley Castle, Birmingham 

Mr Power, cross-examining Downer, asked her who had inflicted the "terrible injuries" which were responsible for the death of the little girl.

She replied: "I don't know. Really."

Earlier, Downer, of Beckbury Road, Weoley Castle, Birmingham, denied ever mistreating or striking the toddler when asked by her own barrister Christopher Millington QC.

Asked what she would have done if she had ever seen her child in distress, she replied: "I would have taken her to the hospital or the doctors for some treatment."

When he then asked why she had dumped the mattress, Downer said: "Because it had Keegan's blood on it and I was worried someone would think that she - either myself or my son had hurt her."

She had earlier claimed blood spots on that cot mattress were from when Keegan suffered with a sore mouth which she would pick at in her cot, causing bleeding.