Harlow baby killer could still be at large, says murder trial lawyer

The trial at Chelmsford Crown Court has lasted nearly six weeks

Lawyers for a woman accused of murdering her baby have suggested the real killer is still at large.

Eloddie Goncalves, 33, of Joyners Field, Harlow, is charged with murdering her son Malik in August 2020.

A trial has heard social services were aware of her struggles with mental health issues and alcohol consumption.

Roderick Johnson KC suggested one of the "weirdos" that lived in her apartment block may have had access to her flat and "assaulted" Malik.

Ms Goncalves told emergency services someone "came in the house" via her window, the trial heard

"Perhaps someone else in that flat was involved in a bizarre incident with Eloddie," said Mr Johnson KC in his closing speech to jurors at Chelmsford Crown Court.

"You can ask the question, 'was somebody else in the flat in those early hours?' Who lost their temper with Malik when he was crying and Eloddie was too out of it to be aware of it happening."

Jurors have already heard how a social services safety plan was put in place for Ms Goncalves which ordered her not to be left alone with 12-week-old Malik and that her partner Muritala Olaiya-Imam should contact police if she was under the influence of alcohol.

'Magically staged'

Ms Goncalves called 999 on the morning of 19 August and said "my son is dead, he's not moving" and told emergency services at the scene "somebody came in the house because I left the window open".

Mr Johnson on Thursday questioned why the defendant's blood was found on a door and the walls in the flat - something he said was unexplained by prosecutors - and suggested she was assaulted by another suspect.

He also suggested Malik could have suffered Shaken Baby Syndrome and said: "If you are sure that Eloddie herself was responsible for the injuries, then we invite you to go on to consider the possibility of the injuries having happened by accident."

Ms Goncalves denies murder, an alternative count of manslaughter, cruelty to a person under 16, assaulting an emergency worker and perverting the course of justice.

Mr Olaiya-Imam, 37, whose address cannot be reported for legal reasons, denies allowing the death of a child, cruelty to a person under 16 and perverting the course of justice.

Jurors were expected to be sent out for deliberations on Friday.

The trial, which continues, has lasted nearly six weeks.