Mansfield mum accused of scalding 19-month-old to death told 'you watched your daughter die'

Katie Crowder is accused of scalding her daughter to death in the early hours of March 6 this year and then delaying before going to her parents’ house, who lived two doors down from her in Wharmby Avenue, Mansfield.

In the final day of evidence in the two-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday, December 3, the 26-year-old again took the stand for cross-examination by the prosecution, where Sally Howes QC accused her of watching the toddler die.

Ms Howes told Crowder: “You may have taken cocaine before you killed Gracie, or you may have taken it as you watched her die. A major injury in a child covering a large part of the body would eventually lead to a condition known as burn shock and it's obvious, not just from the burns but from the way the child is, that the child is desperately burnt.

"Decline is rapid and death follows quite quickly. My suggestion to you is that you held Gracie so she could not move and you poured scalding water over her. She could not move, she could not get away. Were you holding her by her hair at the back of her head?

"Then she started to decline. Due to the loss of fluid her body stopped working. Was that when you panicked? You knew Gracie was dead when you ran round to your parents. You watched her die.”

Later in proceedings, while summing up the case for the prosecution, Ms Howes told the jury: "Emotions have run high through this case which is not surprising. It is inevitable in cases involving the death of a child - sympathy for the child who has lost its life, and sympathy for the mother accused of killing that child, as well as feelings of anger, outrage and disgust.”

And referencing evidence given earlier in the trial by burns expert Kieran O'Boyle, she said: "A major burn sets off a very profound change and this can happen relatively quickly. If that child is not treated with fluids, that child will show signs of something that is very much like blood loss. It could take an hour until we reach the burn shock stage. The next stage is lack of consciousness, leading to death. Decline is then rapid and the child is at severe risk of death, pretty quickly."

"If Mr O'Boyle is right, it took Gracie a while to die and that, you might think, would leave Katie Crowder with a few questions to answer."

Later in today’s proceedings, and speaking in Crowder’s defence, Miranda Moore QC told the jury: "The prosecution theory is that Katie Crowder held Gracie by the back of her head and used something to pour a large volume of scalding water over her - holding her down so she could not escape and then leaving her sitting in that water for a period of time. This is a theory that was never looked at by the experts and not one expert said to us that this child has been held."

The jury is expected to begin its deliberations tomorrow.

Crowder denies murder.

Editor’s message: In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.