A toddler who suffered fatal head injuries was subjected to forceful shaking and blows moments before she fell seriously ill, jury hears.
Michael Daymond is accused of murdering two-year-old Maya Chappell while her mother, Dana Carr, was out working.
The 27-year-old was in regular contact with the Department of Work and Pensions after his Universal Credit was stopped in the hours leading up to the toddler being injured.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Daymond made another call to the DWP while paramedics were treating the toddler after she collapsed in her County Durham home.
Jurors were taken through a timeline of mobile phone data records which showed that the defendant was also in regular contact with 24-year-old Carr throughout the day.
Dr Louise Mulcahy, a Home Office pathologist, said the toddler had suffered almost 50 external injuries, including bruising to her face and public area.
The medical expert said Maya suffered significant injuries her head, neck and abdomen, moments before she collapsed while in the sole care of Daymond.
"Maya has been subjected to a blunt force assault likely comprising shaking plus or minus a blunt force impact to the head and forceful blows to her abdomen,” she said.
Dr Mulcahy accepted that some of the injuries could have been caused by accidents or during the time Maya was being treated by paramedics but confirmed that the fatal injury to her head was caused by ‘forceful blows’.
She said some of the minor bruising could have been caused by Maya nipping herself but she said the number and depths of other bruises showed that "forceful blunt force blows" would have been required.
Cross examining the witness, Nicholas Lumley KC, who represents Daymond, asked Dr Mulcahy whether the bruising to the abdomen could have been caused by falling onto a solid object - 'yes', she replied.
Following his arrest, Daymond categorically denied causing any of the significant injuries to the toddler.
During a police interview, he said: "I couldn't and wouldn't hurt her. I know it's not looking good but I couldn't."
The officer then asked - 'did you shake her?' - Daymond replies - ‘no’.
Earlier in the trial, jurors heard how Maya suffered significant head injuries on September 28 last year and despite their best-efforts medical staff, she died two days later without ever regaining consciousness.
Daymond, formerly of Shotton Colliery, County Durham, has pleaded not guilty to murder and a second charge of cruelty to a child.
Twenty-four-year-old Carr, also formerly of Shotton Colliery, denies child cruelty and allowing the death of a child.
The trial continues.
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