BABY SHAKE CHILDMINDER LOSES MANSLAUGHTER APPEAL
A Buckinghamshire childminder has lost an appeal against her conviction for killing a baby in her care.Keran Henderson, 43, of Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, was jailed in 2007 for three years for manslaughter.
Henderson has always protested her innocence over the death of 11-month-old Maeve Sheppard in March 2005 in Slough, Berkshire.
However, the Court of Appeal rejected submissions on her behalf that her conviction was unsafe.
A jury at Reading Crown Court convicted Henderson, a mother of two, by a majority of 10 to two at the end of a five-week trial.
Henderson, who has since completed her sentence, was not in court for the appeal ruling.
Experts for the Crown Prosecution Service told the Court of Appeal that injuries to the baby were consistent with her neck being violently snapped back and forth.
Henderson's QC Michael Topolski told the court that at trial his client had faced a formidable medical case via the 32 witnesses called by the prosecution.
Henderson was in sole charge of Maeve when the child was rushed to hospital unconscious and critically ill with brain injuries.
She claimed the child had a seizure while she was changing her nappy.
Consultant pathologist Professor James Morris said Maeve could have died from natural causes.
However, Appeal judge Lord Justice Moses stated: 'There is no basis upon which this court can say that the jury was not entitled after being properly directed by (trial judge) Mr Justice Keith to conclude that the expert evidence proved, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the defendant had shaken Maeve with excessive force.' After the hearing, Adrian Roberts, head of the Crown Prosecution Service Thames and Chiltern casework, said: 'The charges against Keran Henderson were not brought lightly and we considered a vast array of specialist medical expert evidence to determine the cause of Maeve Sheppard's injuries and death.
All potential new evidence has been thoroughly examined and tested either in the original trial or in this appeal.
We hope that this will draw a line under this case so that the Sheppard family can finally rebuild their lives after their tragic loss.' The Henderson family stated they were 'absolutely devastated' but not surprised by the outcome of the appeal, citing a five-year ordeal influenced by 'unproven medical opinions' and many witnesses remaining 'uninterviewed.' They emphasized that 'those who know Mrs Henderson personally know the truth.' Thames Valley Inspector Pete Dowling acknowledged the case's complexity and expressed that the Sheppard family, though devastated, can hope to rebuild their lives, despite never forgetting Maeve.
