DISPUTED MEDICAL EXPERT EVIDENCE HALTS TRIAL
Disagreement between three medical expert witnesses has led to the trial of a Yorkshire man being halted and the charges dropped.
Fifty three year old unemployed Stephen Knox was accused of murdering his two year old stepson Mark Harrison by allegedly pushing him down stairs at his home twenty three years ago.
Hours after the alleged incident the toddler died from a brain haemorrhage.
The incident was said to have been witnessed by the boy's sister, Kerry, who, it was alleged, was threatened by Mr Knox that she would suffer the same fate if she said anything.
Peter Joyce QC for the Crown Prosecution Service told Nottingham Crown Court that the case had been brought against Mr Knox after Ms Harrison told counsellor Anthony Scarborough in January 2007 about what she said that she had witnessed.
He went to Police and the case was re-opened despite a coroner ruling in 1987 that the death, the year before, was accidental.
During the trial, the Court heard that an injury to the back of Mark's head could not be explained by Knox's claim that the boy slipped and fell three steps while playing.
But, as the hearing got underway, it emerged that three medical expert witnesses, called by the Prosecution, could not agree whether such a fall, allegedly witnessed by Mark's sister, could have led to the toddler's death.
Mr Knox walked free from Court, declining to comment, after the Prosecution offered no evidence against him.
A spokesman for the CPS defended its decision to prosecute Knox, telling reporters that the case involved the tragic death of a two year old child and had to be been pursued.
He added that: "It was a complex case to investigate and prosecute. When deciding whether this matter should proceed to Court, the CPS concluded that there was a realistic prospect of conviction based on the eye-witness account and the expert evidence."
He concluded that: As it became clear during the course of the trial that some of the expert witness evidence was not consistent enough to sustain a conviction, the only course of action available was not to proceed any further with this case."
ENDS