Latest: Mother denies any part in fatal injuries to toddler

The mother of a toddler who died after being beaten and blinded broke down in tears on Friday as she denied causing the fatal injuries.
By The Newsroom
Published 11th Oct 2013, 14:09 BST

Samantha Bennett wept as she told Belfast Coroner’s Court that she had not hurt her 20-month-old son.

Under questioning from her barrister, the deputy retail manager shook her head and replied “no” when asked directly if she had harmed the child.

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Liam Gonzales Bennett from Ballymena, County Antrim, died in February 2009.

He had suffered 31 bruises to his head that medical experts said were possibly as a result of being punched with a clenched fist.

Ms Bennett had been out buying milk when her son was found unresponsive in his cot. She cried as she recalled returning to the house at Sunningdale Park to find paramedics working on him.

“He was lying in the hallway on the floorboards and the paramedics were working on him,” Ms Bennett told the hearing.

She claimed she went into shock at the sight.

Her former fiance, Noel McKeown, had been looking after the toddler and his older sister while Ms Bennett was at the shop.