Jury in trial of a Doncaster mother and her partner accused of murdering her toddler has begun considering verdicts

The jury in the trial of a mother and her partner who have been accused of murdering her two-year-old son has begun considering its verdicts.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A Sheffield Crown Court trial has heard how Sarah O’Brien, aged 33, of Bosworth Road, Doncaster, and her partner Martin Currie, aged 36, of no fixed abode, have denied murdering Ms O’Brien’s two-year-old son Keigan O’Brien in January after he died from head injuries.

Jason Pitter QC, prosecuting, said Keigan suffered a brain bleed, possibly from having his head hit against a wall or the floor, and over the previous weeks he had suffered a broken spine, broken ribs and a broken arm due to twisting.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Miss O’Brien claimed she had returned home on January 8 after taking Keigan’s siblings to school when Martin Currie called her upstairs later that morning and she saw the toddler on his bedroom floor and she called 999 and the youngster was pronounced dead on January 9.

Pictured is toddler Keigan O'Brien, of Doncaster, who was allegedly murdered by his mother Sarah O'Brien and her partner Martin Currie after the two-year-old suffered head injuries in January.Pictured is toddler Keigan O'Brien, of Doncaster, who was allegedly murdered by his mother Sarah O'Brien and her partner Martin Currie after the two-year-old suffered head injuries in January.
Pictured is toddler Keigan O'Brien, of Doncaster, who was allegedly murdered by his mother Sarah O'Brien and her partner Martin Currie after the two-year-old suffered head injuries in January.

O’Brien has told the court how she was “devastated” when her partner called out and she found her son lifeless in his bedroom.

Katherine Goddard QC, defending O’Brien, said Martin Currie had been trying CPR before police and paramedics did the same on their arrival before Keigan was taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary and then Sheffield Children’s Hospital where he died the following day.

Christopher Tehrani QC, defending Mr Currie, claimed Mr Currie had confronted Miss O’Brien when he found Keigan much earlier that morning but Mr Currie had been prepared to concoct a story to save her.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Currie said he would never hit a child and claimed he had never hit Keigan and although he had been in love with Sarah O’Brien, that changed after he became aware of the extent of the injuries the toddler had suffered.

Sarah O’Brien and Martin Currie have also denied causing cruelty to a child by ill-treatment or neglect, and both face individual counts of causing or allowing the death of a child.

The jury went out on Thursday, November 5, to consider its verdicts and is continuing with deliberations today, November 9.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to The Star website and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit https://www.thestar.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Thank you

Nancy Fielder, editor