{"id":131559,"date":"2021-07-08T13:13:01","date_gmt":"2021-07-08T13:13:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=131559"},"modified":"2021-07-08T13:13:01","modified_gmt":"2021-07-08T13:13:01","slug":"girl-3-found-dead-covered-in-bruises-in-dark-room-with-no-lightbulb-as-mum-boyfriend-deny-killing-her","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/world-news\/girl-3-found-dead-covered-in-bruises-in-dark-room-with-no-lightbulb-as-mum-boyfriend-deny-killing-her\/","title":{"rendered":"Girl, 3, found dead 'covered in bruises in dark room with no lightbulb' as mum & boyfriend deny killing her"},"content":{"rendered":"

A TODDLER was found dead on the floor of a dark room covered in bruises, a murder trial heard.<\/p>\n

Three-year-old Kaylee-Jayde Priest's body was discovered alongside a "dirty mattress" in a bedroom with no carpet, curtains or lightbulb in Kingshurst, West Midlands, last summer.<\/p>\n


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The tot had been "dead for some time" when the ambulance arrived on August 9, Birmingham Crown Court heard. <\/p>\n

Her mother Nicola Priest is on trial for murder – a charge she denies. <\/p>\n

Jurors were told the 22-year-old was found sitting on the bed in a "distressed" state, crying out: "I don't think she is live". <\/p>\n

Her partner Callum Redfern, 21, from Dudley, is also accused of murder.<\/p>\n

Ambulance technician Caitlin Harper said she and her colleague arrived at the property in Solihull at 11.17am. <\/p>\n

Giving evidence, she said: "She [Priest] was distressed and crying. She was crying out 'I don't think she is alive'.<\/p>\n

"The little girl was on the floor next to the bed.<\/p>\n

"CPR wasn't needed. It was apparent she had been dead for some time."<\/p>\n


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The ambulance crew put defibrillator pads on Kaylee-Jayde to detect signs of life, but Miss Harper recalled finding "blood pooling" on the right hand side of the child's torso.<\/p>\n

She also found "bruising clusters" on the child's left side and a "red abrasion mark" on her chest, the court heard. <\/p>\n

Miss Harper said Priest did not explain why Kaylee-Jayde had those marks.<\/p>\n

She added that the bed had a "dirty mattress" with no sheet, covers or pillows, and the room was dark with no lightbulbs in the fixtures.<\/p>\n

There were also no curtains or blinds on the window, and the floor was a "hard" surface without a carpet. <\/p>\n

UNEXPLAINED MARKS<\/h2>\n

Miss Harper said she asked Priest if Kaylee-Jayde had had any accidents leading up to her death. <\/p>\n

She said: "She [Priest] said about two weeks ago she [Kaylee-Jayde] had fallen off her play table. She said she had hit her head but there were no injuries.<\/p>\n

"I asked her if she had been vomiting afterwards and she said 'yes'.<\/p>\n

"She told me the night before [her death] she had been sick. She told me on the previous days she had a reduced appetite and wasn't eating as much."<\/p>\n

Priest told Miss Harper that she had put her daughter to bed at 7.30pm the night before, jurors heard. <\/p>\n

During the night, Kaylee-Jayde had been sick three times, with Priest last checking up on her at 10.30pm.<\/p>\n

Priest woke up at 10.30am the following day to find Kaylee-Jayde lying on her right hand side before moving her to the floor, the court heard.<\/p>\n

Priest and Redfern, whom prosecutors allege were in a "close relationship", are accused of Kaylee-Jayde's murder and a separate charge of manslaughter, which they deny.<\/p>\n

The pair are also accused of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a child between June 12 and August 3, 2020, which they also deny.<\/p>\n

The trial continues.<\/p>\n