Irish nanny to face US trial in April

The Boston murder trial of Irish nanny Aisling Brady McCarthy is now likely to begin in April after her lawyers yesterday told a judge they were ready to fight the charge.

The 35-year-old — who denies murdering one-year-old Rehma Sabir in the Boston suburb of Cambridge in January — was not in attendance at Middlesex Superior Court in the Boston suburb of Woburn for yesterday’s brief hearing.

Defence lawyer, Melinda Thompson told Judge S Jane Haggerty that she was still awaiting medical and radiology reports from the District Attorney on the existence of bone fractures but “intends to be ready for trial”.

Assistant District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said he was “hopeful” that the murder trial would proceed as scheduled in April.

Originally from Lavey in Co Cavan, Ms Brady McCarthy has been in custody in the Boston area since a few days after the death of the baby and bail remains set at $500,000 (€370,000).

Ms Thompson argued last month that 90% of the evidence used to charge her client with murder should have been deemed inadmissible, however it now appears the trial will go ahead in the spring.

Autopsy results showed that the child suffered subdural haemorrhaging as well as bruising around her lower body and buttocks. The prosecution has stated that her injuries were consistent with “violent shaking and impact to the head”.

The prosecution’s case will be based around the fact that Rehma was alone with Ms Brady McCarthy on her first birthday before the child slipped out of consciousness and was rushed to hospital. She died two days later.