Kemarni Watson Darby: Murder-accused mother thought son 'was just sick'

Alicia Watson denied harming her son, saying she thought he was just sick

A mother standing trial for the murder of her three-year-old son has told the court she never harmed him and "thought he was just sick" before his death.

Kemarni Watson-Darby died from severe abdominal injuries in hospital, where he was taken following a 999 call from his mother's West Bromwich flat.

Alicia Watson, 30, told jurors she had taken her son to be checked by a nurse hours before his death on 5 June 2018.

Ms Watson and partner Nathaniel Pope, 32, both deny murder and child cruelty.

Kemarni Watson-Darby suffered fatal abdominal injuries

Prosecutors allege the boy was fatally assaulted at the flat, having suffered previous abuse.

Appearing at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday, Ms Watson said she had found the boy unresponsive after returning home on the day of his death.

Answering questions by QC Charles Sherrard for the defence, she told the jury she had taken the boy to see a nurse earlier in the day.

"I sat him on my lap and I answered all her questions and she checked his stomach," she said.

Miss Watson added that the nurse had checked Kemarni's ears, throat and chest, and said his temperature was normal.

"Is there anything during the course of the examination that gave you any indication that Kemarni was in pain?" Mr Sherrard asked.

She replied that there was nothing that "gave a hint" of the fractured ribs Kemarni was found to have suffered.

Alicia Watson and Nathaniel Pope are both on trial for murder

The court heard that she had left the boy sleeping on a sofa when she left the flat. Upon returning at about 15:15 BST she said she discovered him "staring into space".

Phoning 999 she said she saw Mr Pope enter the room and he was told by the operator to carry out rescue breaths on the boy.

Kemarni was taken by ambulance to hospital, where he died. His mother and Mr Pope were arrested later that evening.

"I was a mess," she told the court. "I couldn't stop crying and I was confused at what had happened."

Insisting she had never done anything to harm her son, Ms Watson added: "I genuinely thought he was just sick, nothing more."

Kemarni Watson Darby was examined by a nurse on the day of his death, the court heard

At a previous hearing, Mr Pope, from Wolverhampton, accepted he was in the flat during the time it was believed the three-year-old was fatally assaulted, but denied causing any deliberate injury.

Miss Watson said of Pope: "I had just seen him try to save my child. I didn't think at all for a second that he had done anything that had caused Kemarni's death."

The trial continues.