What exactly is the evidence for the "triad" of SBS

Expert says baby death evidence is 'remarkably thin'

A MEDICAL expert at the trial of a Thurrock man accused of killing a 19-month-old tot said the evidence that shaking a baby caused severe head injuries was "remarkably thin."

Colin Kendrick, 31, denies killing Aimee Collins at the home he shared with the child's mother Sarah-Jane Collins in Eden Green, South Ockendon, on December 6 2005.

Dr Philip Anslow, a neuro radiologist, said it was clear when he reviewed the CT scan taken on the night Aimee Collins was admitted to Basildon Hospital, that she was already "brain dead."


Dr Anslow told the jury at Basildon Crown Court today he believed the brain died due to lack of oxygen and blood but he could not say what had caused this to happen.

He said while Professor Rupert Risdon, the UK's only paediatric forensic pathologist, was confident the 19-month-old toddler's injuries and death were caused by her being shaken, that was only "one differential diagnosis."

Dr Anslow raised his concerns about the research that has gone into what has been called "shaken baby syndrome", saying: "As time has gone on and I have read more and more about this subject, I am less and less convinced that simply shaking a child causes subdural bleeding. The evidence is remarkably thin. I have been shocked at how thin the literature was to support that shaking can cause a subdural."

He said doctors are unable to carry out experiments on children to discover whether shaking actually causes bleeding around the brain but in studies conducted on animals, shaking did not result in head injuries.

Dr Anslow said the shaken baby syndrome theory came about as doctors searched for a reason why a child could have suffered brain damage and bleeding to the eyes and brain without there being any external sign of injury.

Dr Anslow also said that following the case of the British au pair Louise Woodward, who was convicted of killing a child she was caring for in America, a number of nannies were secretly filmed shaking children and in none of those cases did the child suffer any head injury.

On the day Colin Kendrick alleges he found Aimee lying unconscious in her cot, she suffered a fall in which she hit her head against a door before landing on a solid floor.

Dr Anslow said a fall from 3ft would cause a "significant impact to the head" and this could possibly have triggered off the child's later collapse.

He said: "Very fortunately most children get away with it the vast majority of the time but just once in a while they do not."

He also said it was possible Aimee's collapse was linked to an incident a few months before her death when she briefly lost consciousness for no apparent reason.

The trial continues.

American flies in to tell court of doubts over tragic tot's injuries

From the archive, first published Tuesday 29th Jan 2008.

AN AMERICAN pathologist said there was "no convincing evidence" that a toddler who suffered severe head and body injuries had been shaken to death.


Dr John Plunkett, a specialist in general and forensic pathology, said although the brain, spinal cord and abdominal injuries discovered during a post mortem on Aimee Collins could have been caused by an assault there were other explanations that could not be ruled out.


Dr Plunkett said the findings of Professor Rupert Risdon, the UKs only paediatric forensic pathologist, that the 19-month-old child was shaken, punched, kicked or stamped on during an attack, which occurred within 15-minutes of her mother Sarah-Jane Collins leaving the flat she shared with Colin Kendrick in Eden Green, South Ockendon, were "possible" but "extremely unlikely."


And he said there was no "convincing" evidence that Aimee's head and internal injuries were caused by shaking.


Dr Plunkett, who travelled from Minnesota, USA, to give evidence at Basildon Crown Court today, said: "If shaking were to have caused Aimee's injuries, she would have had to have been subjected to a force that was in excess of 2100lbs and in addition she most likely would have suffered major structural neck damage."


He also said the internal bleeding to her stomach walls were not a feature of "shaken baby syndrome" and were not consistent with an assault but he said it was possible the injuries, along with her three fractured ribs, were caused by the medical staff at Basildon Hospital as they battled to save the child's life.


Professor Philip Luthert, who has a special interest in the pathology of the eye, also gave evidence and told how he found bleeding at the back of Aimee's eyes and around the optic nerves.


Professor Luthert said he couldn't say with certainly what had caused the bleeding but he accepted some kind of trauma was "very closely related."


He also said that while it was "very unlikely" the injury was the result of an accident in which Kendrick tripped while carrying Aimee a few days before her death and landed on top of her, he could not "exclude" it as a possibility.


He added: "The main reason for that belief is that it is my understanding that falls in young children are not uncommon. Fortunately it is relatively rare that we see young children dying with a combination of retinal haemorrhage, sub dural haemorrhage and a slightly swollen brain."


Kendrick, 31, denies murdering Aimee on December 6 2005.


The trial continues.


Baby may have died after fall - trial told
From the archive, first published Friday 25th Jan 2008.

A BABY may have died from an accidental fall rather than being shaken to death, a murder trial has been told.


Colin Kendrick, 31, denies killing his girlfriend's 19-month-old daughter, Aimee Collins, at their home in Eden Green, South Ockendon.


The child was taken to Basildon Hospital on December 6, 2005, and her life support machine was switched off at 2am the following day after she was declared brain-dead.


Judge Phillip Clegg, speaking at Basildon Crown Court, said: "The scenario that has been put forward by the defence is that in a fall in the early afternoon of the sixth, the child spun round and hit the right side of her head against the door and went down.


"You know the type of surface - it was a concrete floor with a very thin carpet covering it."


Neuro-pathologist Dr Waney Squire said Amy had suffered bleeding to the right side of her brain, which could have been caused by the accident.


She said: "I think the brain was swelling from the morning of the collapse."


The trial continues.


Top doctor concedes possibility of other causes in baby death murder trial
From the archive, first published Tuesday 22nd Jan 2008.

AN eminent professor, called to given evidence in the trial of a Thurrock man alleged to have killed a baby, accepted medicine did not have all the answers and there were conditions that remained "unexplained."


Professor Rupert Risdon gave evidence for the second successive day at the trial of Colin Kendrick, who is accused of shaking 19-month-old Aimee Collins to death, at the home he shared with her mother Sarah-Jane Collins in Eden Green, South Ockendon.


On cross examination by Michael Topolski QC, defence counsel for Kendrick, Professor Risdon said while there were conditions that medicine could not explain he believed he knew what caused Aimee to collapse on December 6 2005.


He accepted that bleeding to the brain could be caused by an "impact injury" but said there would normally be a wound or a fracture to the skull.


Professor Risdon, the UK's only paediatric forensic pathologist, said: "With impact injuries serious enough to cause inter cranial damage there is usually some marks outside the head."


He said it was "excessively rare" for bleeding to back of the eyes to be caused by accidental injury and he did not accept that the internal bleeding to the stomach wall was the result of a belly button infection Aimee had been suffering.


Professor Risdon said an accident four days before her death in which Kendrick tripped over while carrying Aimee and the child fell on a Hoover part before the defendant landed on top of her, would not have caused the three fractures to her ribs or the internal bleeding to the stomach wall.


He also accepted that head injuries could be caused by a sudden jolt when a child was strapped into a car seat but said Aimee's injuries were not the result of "seat belt injuries."


Kendrick, 31 denies murder.


The trial at Basildon Crown Court continues.