Dad on trial for murder told police he held quilt over crying baby's face so he could sleep, court hears
29.04.2022 - 22:03
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
A dad on trial for murdering his baby daughter told police he held a quilt over her face to stop her crying so he could sleep after an early shift at work, a court has heard.
Ali Zain, 25, appeared at Manchester Crown court accused of murdering his ten-month-old daughter Aiman Abbas Toor at their home on Crompton Street, Farnworth, on November 1, 2019. Andrew Thomas, prosecuting, told the court that initially Mr Zain told paramedics, his wife, and officers that they had both fallen down the stairs.
After an early shift at the Subway shop he worked in, Mr Zain returned home just before 2.30pm to look after his daughter whilst wife Sahar Toor went to work at the Holiday Inn Express near the Trafford Centre, the court heard. The pair had gone upstairs to sleep, as Mr Zain was tired from his early morning shift, whilst she was out.
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Mr Zain said he’d gone to take baby Aiman downstairs when he slipped and fell, dropping his daughter during the fall and hearing a bang as she hit her head, before losing consciousness himself. When he woke up, he said he saw Aiman on the floor next to him, with her head against a cupboard.
He called 999, and a recording of the call was played out in court, with Mr Zain heard to be hysterical as he told the call handler that his baby girl wasn’t breathing. The handler walked him through giving CPR to the infant, and paramedics arrived less than four minutes after the call was made, the court heard. Aiman was rushed to Royal Salford Hospital, where staff desperately tried to resuscitate her. Tragically, she was pronounced dead just before 6.30pm.
Evidence read to the jury from