A jury presiding in a murder trial concerning the death of a child has heard that eye injuries the infant sustained were consistent with baby shaking.
Jurors heard that an adult shaking a baby was both “inappropriate” and “dangerous”.
Craig Rowland (29), from Millington Park in Portadown, is standing trial at Belfast Crown Court on charges of murdering his son Lewis Oliver Rowland and also the child’s manslaughter, which he denies.
Three-year old Lewis passed away following complications arising from surgery on October 20 2018.
His death occurred three years after he was admitted to Craigavon Area Hospital with serious head injuries which resulted in a permanent and severe disability.
It’s the Crown’s case that the “non-accidental” brain injuries he sustained in November 2015 when he was 13 weeks old played a significant role in his death.
Now in its third week, the trial at Belfast Crown Court heard evidence from a consultant paediatric ophthalmologist.
Confirming he specialised in children with eye conditions, the doctor said that in the aftermath of Lewis’s death, he studied a number of medical reports and photographs concerned the deceased child.
He then compiled a report on his findings and was asked about this by a Crown barrister.
The doctor explained that Lewis sustained bleeding to the back of both eyes which was detected when the baby was admitted to Craigavon Area Hospital in November 2015.
He told the court that this, coupled with other injuries Lewis displayed when admitted to hospital such as a rib fracture and unexplained bruising, led him to conclude that the retinal haemorrhaging was non-accidental.
When he was asked by a Crown barrister how, in his professional opinion, the retinal haemorrhaging occurred, the doctor replied it was consistent with a “shaking-type injury”.
The medical expert said he excluded other potential causes such as birth trauma, CPR, seizures, bouncing the child, the infant falling from an adult’s arms and attempts to rouse or waken the baby.
Other caused he excluded were a vitamin deficiency, vomiting and a congenital disorder.
The doctor was then asked by the Crown barrister to further explain his finding that the retinal haemorrhaging was caused by shaking.
He responded by telling the court that having taken all the evidence into consideration, the bleeding to the back of both eyes “remain unexplained and in my opinion would be most consistent with a shaking-type injury.
“This would be where Lewis would have been held under the armpits with his head unsupported with a movement back and forth.
“The force required to produce these findings would, in my opinion, be clear in any circumstance to both the perpetrator and any observer that this was dangerous and inappropriate.”
He added that “picking up a child” and “shaking for a short period of time” would cause retinal haemorrhages.
The doctor was then questioned by a defence barrister and he confirmed it was not possible to determine whether a male or female had caused this type of injury when a baby had been shaken.
The consultant paediatric ophthalmologist also confirmed there were no visible signs or indications regarding the type of eye injuries sustained by Lewis.
The jury has already heard that both Rowland and the deceased child’s mother Laura Graham (31), also of Millington Park in Portadown, have each pleaded guilty to a charge of wilfully neglecting their son on November 20 2015.
This charge relates to their failure to obtain the timely medical treatment that their 13-week old son required. At hearing.