A childminder was so concerned about bruises and scratches on a toddler who was later allegedly murdered that she warned a care watchdog of her fears that “somebody was hurting” him, a court heard yesterday.
Heather Farmer, 48, broke down in tears as she told jurors that she had been so worried about two-year-old Liam Fee that she could not sleep.
The childminder told how she started looking after the young boy at her home in Fife in July 2012, when he was 11 months old, and had recorded milestones in his development in a work diary, including that he was walking, talking, interacting with other children, singing and playing with toys.
While Liam had initially seemed “happy and content” Ms Farmer told the court that this changed and she became increasingly concerned that the toddler was bruised and “withdrawn”.
At the high court in Livingston yesterday, where Liam’s mother and her partner are on trial for the boy’s murder, Ms Farmer said: “After Christmas I noticed a big change in Liam. He was very quiet. He didn’t want to interact with other children. He seemed sad.”
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She told the court that Liam had bruises on his legs and back on different occasions in 2012, and that she had contacted the Scottish Childminding Association (SCMA) in January 2013, after finding scratches and bruises on his face.
Days earlier, he had arrived at her nursery with a bruised forehead and legs, which his mother, Rachel Trelfa, claimed were the result of him falling out of his cot. On one occasion Liam could not eat or drink, and on another he arrived at nursery with a stiff neck and couldn’t turn on his right side.
“There was too much for me to be comfortable with happening — marks on Liam, things that were getting said,” Ms Farmer told the court. “Most of my toddlers were marked, mostly on the legs, sometimes on the arm. Not with Liam. It was all over, sometimes on his face.
“I thought something wasn’t right. I thought somebody was hurting Liam.”
Jurors were read a note of the phone conversation Ms Farmer had with the Care Inspectorate, whom the SCMA had advised her to call, in which she reported Liam’s bruises.
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“Heather stated that she had observed a number of injuries over a period of time,” it said.
“Last week, he had a black eye and bad bruising on his forehead. His mum said he must have fallen when climbing out of the travel cot and she found him asleep on the floor.
“Heather is concerned that his mum had not heard him fall. She is not certain that there is anything sinister about his injuries but at the very least she is concerned he might not be properly supervised.
“She said that she was not sleeping because she was worried.” The court also heard from a carer yesterday who told the court that Liam’s bedroom was his “comfort zone” and he “freaked out” if strangers visited.Last week jurors were told how Ms Trelfa removed Liam from the nursery after staff contacted social services after “a few issues”.
Ms Trelfa, 31, and her civil partner Nyomi Fee, 28, deny murdering two-year-old Liam at a house in Fife on March 22, 2014, and falsely blaming his death on another young boy.
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The murder charge alleges the couple assaulted Liam on various occasions between March 15 and March 22, 2014.
Ms Trelfa and Ms Fee also deny a catalogue of allegations of wilfully ill-treating and neglecting two other young boys and are further accused of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
The trial continues.