Santina's mother receives letter allegedly from little girl's killer
Karen Harrington at the Central Criminal Court in Cork. The letter received by Ms O'Donoghue was signed off: 'Puddles of cuddles, Karen.' Picture:Dan Linehan
The convicted killer of two-year-old Santina Cawley allegedly wrote to the slain child’s distraught mother, saying she “will not ever accept blame for something I did not do".
Karen Harrington was found guilty of the little girl’s murder this year, and is serving a life sentence in Limerick Prison.
Now, a letter claiming to be from Harrington was sent to Santina’s grieving mother, Bridget O’Donoghue.
Ms O’Donoghue told the she was “very upset” by the letter.
In it, someone calling themselves ‘Karen’ says the heartache following Santina’s death is “unbearable” and she knows how Ms O’Donoghue feels.
The letter writer said they went “blank” from fear the night Santina was killed, on July 5, 2019, muddying their memory of the night.
“I am asking you from my heart, from a mother to a mother, can you relate to this happening,” the letter says.
“You ever get such a fright you blank to what exactly happened?”
The writer also says they pray to Santina “morn, noon and night”.
“The constant heartache is unbearable and what Santina suffered is unimaginable girl," the letter says.
“I know how you feel, I feel the same. I will not ever accept blame for something I did not do. I have undergone many assessments. I am of sound mind. If you wish to visit me, please do.”
The letter is then signed off with the words: “Puddles of cuddles. Karen.”
Santina’s unresponsive body was found in Harrington’s apartment after she had been brought there by her father Michael Cawley, who was in a relationship with Harrington.
He left the child there with Harrington at about 3am and when he returned at 5am, Santina was badly injured with a fractured skull and traumatic brain injury.
She was covered in bruises and clumps of her hair had been torn out.
In a powerful victim impact statement delivered by Ms O’Donoghue as Harrington was convicted of murder, the grieving mother said:
“I continuously ask myself how someone could be so cruel to a two-year-old — a soft and gentle soul.
“Just how can you hurt a baby like this?"
“I wonder was she looking for me in those last moments?
“What was Santina thinking and feeling during her terrible death?”
Gardaí continue to engage with the injured parties in this case through a family liaison officer, a statement from gardaí said.
