17 October 2023 , 16:37
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A mother battered her two-month-old baby daughter to death while the child's father ignored the horrific cruelty she was subjected to, a court heard.
Aissatu Barrie suffered multiple rib fractures, a skull fracture and damage to the spine at the hands of Raby Diallo, 26, while Mohammed Barrie, 37, allegedly turned a blind eye. The little child was declared dead at home in Brixton, south London, on May 19, 2020, after Diallo phoned the emergency services, Inner London Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Kate Lumsdon KC has told jurors expert medical witnesses are in agreement on Aissatu's injuries and that they could represent a "minimum of four episodes of trauma". "They are also in agreement as to the likely mechanism of the injuries, or groups of injuries," Ms Lumsdon said. The experts considered, she alleged, the skull fracture was caused by "direct impact" and the other fractures were "typical fractures of a shaking mechanism".
Prosecutor Sally Howes said: "On May 19, 2020, at about 8am, Raby Diallo called an ambulance; her baby was not breathing. Mohammed Barrie was at work in Fulham at the time. As they entered the flat they saw another baby lying on the sofa. This was Aissatu. She was not moving. She was not breathing.
"The paramedics did everything they could to resuscitate her, but to no avail, jurors heard. Aissatu was dead." The baby was pronounced dead at 9.18am that morning. Ms Howes said: "In due course, post-mortem examinations identified findings consistent with four separate episodes of injury, the approximate timings of which are considered to be a few to several weeks prior to death. Fractures to her skull, ribs, and damage to her spine was found."
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A series of WhatsApp messages sent from Barrie's phone show the couple knew their daughter had been terribly injured, the court heard. In a voice message to 'Mum' on May 10 he said: "We have to be extra careful with Aissatu and hold her neck otherwise she will fall because she tend to throw her head backwards and if one doesn't hold her neck properly, she can easily fall. Aissatu nearly fell several times while I am holding her on several occasions, that's why I always hold her neck. Now I understand how to hold her."
Ms Howes said: "This voice message suggests that Mohammed Barrie is well aware of the injuries to Aissatu's neck and head and is getting his explanation in first. The day before Diallo sent him a photo of Assatu's head on WhatsApp. She said: 'Baby, Aissatu's head is swollen on that side, I've just seen it. You are going to have to say that I am the one who did [it]."
Another voicemail read to jurors allegedly shows Mr Barrie was told to take Aissatu to the hospital by a family member, reports MyLondon. Kate Lumsdon KC read the voicemail from a contact called 'Sis Laila' which said: "Gando, take her back to hospital 'this is not okay'. I don’t think that the neck is anything. Show them how she vomits coming to the nose and the head’s swelling. Show them the spots. Do you Understand? That’s what you have to do."
Barrie moved to the UK from Sierra Leone as an asylum seeker and was working at a Post Office sorting office in Fulham and as a part-time Uber driver, jurors were told. Raby Diallo, from Ivory Coast, met Mr Barrie in January 2018 and they married on July 14 that year.
Ms Diallo arrived in the UK on January 3, 2020, on a spousal visa while she was 33 weeks pregnant and moved into Mr Barrie's Brixton address. Ms Diallo "had no English at all, speaking only French and Falu", the court heard.
Diallo has admitted manslaughter but Barrie denies allowing the death of Assiatu and cruelty to a child and wilful neglect. Ms Howes said: "It is the prosecution case that the defendant allowed the death of Aissatu and that he wilfully neglected his infant daughter by failing to ensure that she received the medical treatment and help that he was aware she needed."
The trial continues.