Antrim mother in tears as she denies beating deceased toddler

The mother of a toddler who died after being beaten and blinded broke down in tears as she denied causing the fatal injuries.

Samantha Bennett wept as she told Belfast Coroner’s Court that she had not hurt her son.

Under questioning from her barrister Andrew Brown, the deputy retail manager shook her head and replied “No” when asked directly if she had harmed the child.

Liam Gonzalez Bennett, from Ballymena, Co Antrim, was just 20 months old when he died in February 2009.

He had suffered 31 bruises to his head which medical experts said were possibly as a result of being punched with a clenched fist.

Ms Bennett had been out buying milk when her son was found unresponsive in his cot. She cried as she recalled returning to the house at Sunningdale Park to find paramedics working on him.

“He was lying in the hallway on the floorboards and the paramedics were working on him,” Ms Bennett told the Old Town Hall hearing.

She claimed she went into shock at the sight.

Her former fiancé Noel McKeown had been looking after the toddler and his older sister while Ms Bennett was at the shop.

Mr McKeown, who is living and working in Australia, is expected to give evidence via Skype later.