Amanda Fulton: Jury 'not properly directed' over emotional state of Ballymoney woman found guilty of cruelty to baby left blind and brain damaged, Court of Appeal hears

Counsel for Amanda Fulton, 36, claimed her defence to the charges may have been seriously undermined by the guidance they received about her demeanour during the trial.

Judgment was reserved in the bid to overturn her convictions for cruelty and causing or allowing the four-week-old child to suffer physical harm in an assault which left him blind and brain damaged.

Her husband Christopher Fulton, 36, is mounting a separate challenge to his prison sentence for causing grievous bodily harm with intent and cruelty to a child.

Charges were brought against the couple, from Rockfield Gardens in Mosside, near Ballymoney, after doctors discovered the baby’s injuries in November 2019.

The little boy, known as P, was initially brought to a GP in an unresponsive state before an urgent transfer to hospital, with a paramedic describing him as “frighteningly pale, like a dead body”.

By that stage in a coma, he spent 10 days in an intensive care unit fighting for his life.

Christopher Fulton accompanied the child to hospital and was described as appearing unconcerned throughout, the trial heard.

He was found guilty of carrying out an assault on P with a severity likened to a car crash.

The child sustained a traumatic brain injury, lacerations to his liver, a total of 27 rib fractures, and further fractures to his legs.

Left with a life-limiting condition, P now suffers from severe dystonic cerebral palsy, is effectively blind, has an intellectual disability and epilepsy, and can only communicate by crying.

Both defendants denied guilt but were ultimately convicted by a jury sitting at Newry Crown Court in October last year.

The trial judge found no mitigating factors and no remorse shown by either of them.

Christopher Fulton was jailed for 22 years, while his wife received a four-year sentence.

She was assessed as having failed to protect P from serious and irreversible harm in what was described as an unforgivable dereliction of duty.

With Amanda Fulton set to be released from custody this weekend, her lawyers disputed the safety of her conviction.

The challenge centred on directions given to the jury that her emotional state in the witness box should not be regarded as an indication she had been telling the truth.

Seamus McNeill KC argued that the trial judge failed to give separate guidance on the distress and panic she showed at the time the baby boy was brought to hospital.

“That may well have caused serious harm to Mrs Fulton’s defence,” he submitted.

The three appeal judges were told jurors could have been left confused about evidence which potentially corroborated her account.

“It was a fundamental plank of her defence that she didn’t commit these acts and didn’t know there was a risk,” Mr McNeill continued.

“If the jury had been directed to consider her emotional reaction (at the time)... and considered it was genuine and not feigned, that is another piece of probative evidence that could go towards their assessment of her overall credibility on her state of knowledge.”

Toby Hedworth KC, prosecuting, insisted Amanda Fulton’s distressed state when testifying was separate and relevant because she changed stance to attack her husband late in the trial process.

“Her performance in the witness box was very much an issue,” he said.

“It was therefore quite appropriate for the judge in his charge to give the jury assistance on how they were to approach distress when giving evidence and to strike the appropriate balance.”

Mr Hedworth added: “The fact that an additional direction (about her contemporaneous demeanour) could have been given is a far cry from it should have been given.”

Reserving judgment in the appeal, Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan pledged: “We will give our decision as soon as possible.”