Babysitter cleared of Kyle's murder

A jury at Teesside Crown Court acquitted Ms Holdsworth, 38, of Boggart Hill Drive, Seacroft, Leeds, of murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter following a re-trial.

The mother-of-two was originally convicted of the two-year-old's murder in March 2005 and jailed for life but the Court of Appeal overturned her conviction after doubts were raised about medical evidence presented in the first trial.

During the re-trial the jury was given the stark choice of deciding whether Ms Holdsworth or Kyle's mother, Clare Fisher, 24, caused the severe head injuries.

During Ms Holdsworth's original trial she was accused of repeatedly banging Kyle's head against a wooden bannister with as much force as a 60mph crash, after losing her temper.

However, doubts were first raised about her conviction by journalist John Sweeney in a report for BBC Newsnight.

The programme interviewed leading neuro-pathologist Dr Wainey Squier who later gave evidence for the defence in the re-trial.

She said it was unlikely Kyle had suffered a massive blow to the head.

In May the Court of Appeal overturned Ms Holdsworth's conviction after ruling it unsafe and ordered a re-trial.

The jury heard that the doctors who gave evidence at trial got it wrong and collectively failed to diagnose that Kyle had a highly unusual brain, with abnormalities which predisposed him to epilepsy.

Fresh evidence established there was a reasonable possibility the toddler suffered a prolonged epileptic seizure.

During the re-trial, which began on December 1, the prosecution maintained the former supermarket shelf stacker had attacked Kyle after his teenage single mother Clare Fisher had gone out for the night drinking.

Ms Holdsworth said the two-year-old suddenly went floppy and collapsed at her then home in Millpool Close, Hartlepool, on July 21, 2004 as they sat on her sofa watching television.

He died two days later after suffering a bleed in his skull and brain swelling, caused, the prosecution said, by severe head trauma no more than 15 minutes earlier.

The defence relied upon two medical experts who said an epileptic seizure was most likely to have led to the death of two-year-old.

Brain specialist Dr Squier said the prosecutions case that Kyle was repeatedly banged against a banister would fly in the face of a large amount of clinical evidence.

The consultant said she could not agree with the assertion that Kyles injuries could only have been caused by him having his head smashed against the wooden bannister.

Dr Squier, now based at the University of Oxford, told the jury that her opinion was that an epileptic seizure was far more likely.

Kyle suffered from a number of pre-existing brain abnormalities, some of which even on their own would have left him pre-disposed to epilepsy, she said.

The jury was told that 80 per cent of children with any one of the abnormalities would develop epilepsy.

Professor Squier added: "I have never seen a brain where all of these features have come together.

"It is quite unique. This case is incredibly complicated; there are so many factors involved."

Professor Renzo Guerrini, a paediatric neurologist at the University of Florence Childrens Hospital, flew in from Italy to give evidence.

He has helped write guidelines on paediatric epilepsy for the World Health Organisation, has held numerous posts including Professor at Kings College, London, Professor at Great Ormond Street and currently sits on numerous international committees.

Prof Guerrini said of the youngsters brain abnormalities: "I am not aware of such a patient reported in any medical literature.

"There's a really high chance for a child having this combination of features to have epileptic seizures."

He said that Ms Holdsworth's description of Kyle's symptoms when she rang 999 saying he was floppy, hitting himself and drifting in and out of consciousness matched such a fit.

When asked by defence barrister Andrew Thomas QC: "Is it conceivable that a member of the public could invent a description like that?" he replied: "No."

The court heard that the youngster had bruising and marks to his head but Ms Holdsworth's defence maintained they were inflicted the previous day - blaming Kyles mother - and coupled with his brain abnormalities, led to the unexpected fit.

Prof Guerrini was asked by Mr Thomas: "What is the scenario that caused Kyle to collapse that evening?"

He replied: "In my opinion there is compelling evidence he had some head injury before this night which might have been trivial but sufficient enough to produce bleeding on the brain which triggered the epileptic seizure which because of Kyle's brain condition was possibly prolonged."

Mr Thomas said Miss Fisher was suffering from depression at the time and was unable to cope with the demands of bringing up a toddler.

Her house was untidy, neighbours complained of loud music at night, and days before Kyle died, she mistreated him by leaving him home alone while out with friends. He also said there were older bruises on Kyle when he died, consistent with rough handling.

And he submitted that when her mother, Linda Fisher, went away on holiday, the pressure of looking after Kyle alone became too great.

He said: "It is Clare Fisher who is the credible candidate for attacking Kyle in this case."

In his closing speech, prosecutor Andrew Robertson QC told the jury: "The defence appear to be saying there was only one assault and that was on the Tuesday night.

"They say that was by Clare Fisher with no further injury inflicted on the Wednesday night. The vital question is who was responsible for the injuries to his head.

"There are only two possible candidates, Suzanne Holdsworth or the child's mother Clare Fisher."

Before the jury of eight men and four women returned to the courtroom, the defendant broke down in tears and began shaking uncontrollably. She was comforted by two dock officers and given a glass of water by her barrister, Andrew Thomas QC.

Court One fell silent when the foreman stood up to return the verdict.

Ms Holdsworth was supported by two dock officers as the foreman returned the unanimous not-guilty verdict and collapsed in tears as she realised she was innocent.

Lisa Fisher, Kyle's aunt, said outside court: "At the end of the day it didn't matter.

The result of the trial, guilty, not guilty, or manslaughter, or whether there was one trial or 20.

"We've lost our Kyle, my sister has lost her son, and nothing will bring him back.

"We will always love him and he will always been in our hearts."

Linda Fisher, Kyle's grandmother, said :"Right from the beginning, we have always wanted the truth.

"The jury don't even know what happened. We will never know.

"There are only two people who know what happened."

Lee Spencer, Suzanne Holdsworth's partner, said on the court steps: "Suzanne is in a very emotional state and is unable to speak at this moment.

"She is unable to speak about Kyle, who she loved and looked after.

"Sadly, we now know that he had medical features that led to his collapse and death.

"This has been a terrible time for Suzanne."