Maya Chappell: Accused mother 'didn't know' of daughter abuse

Maya Chappell died in hospital two days after collapsing at her Shotton Colliery home

A woman accused of not protecting her daughter from being killed by a new partner was unaware of anything "untoward" happening, jurors heard.

Dana Carr, 24, said her "fairy tale" boyfriend of nine weeks Michael Daymond got on well with Maya Chappell, two, who died in September 2022.

Teesside Crown Court has heard multiple relatives raised concerns about bruises on Maya in the weeks before her death.

Mr Daymond denies murder and Ms Carr denies failing to protect her daughter.

The court has heard Mr Daymond, 27, was in sole care of Maya on 28 September at their new home in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, when he called 999 to say she was gasping for breath.

She died two days later in hospital with pathologists finding she had suffered a "blunt force assault, likely comprising severe shaking combined with impacts to the head and forceful blows to the abdomen", prosecutors said.

Jurors have heard from Maya's father James Chappell who said he repeatedly raised concerns about Mr Daymond and was so worried he made a request for information about him under Sarah's Law.

On one occasion he messaged Ms Carr asking about bruises on Maya's face and she replied to say the two-year-old had fallen from a slide in a park, the court heard.

Dana Carr denies allowing the death of a child and child cruelty

In her police interviews, Ms Carr answered "no comment" to dozens of questions about Maya and injuries she was reportedly seen with, including claims she made in an earlier statement that Maya would "self-harm" by hitting her head off a radiator or nip herself on the legs.

Ms Carr told police she had split with Mr Chappell as he regularly beat her "to a pulp" and cited numerous other domestic abuse incidents.

She said she had known Mr Daymond through work and they got together nine weeks before Maya's death.

She said their relationship was like a "fairy tale" and Maya liked Mr Daymond, with the pair regularly baking cakes and watching films together.

Ms Carr said Mr Chappell "didn't like the fact I had a new boyfriend".

She said there were bruises on Maya's face which Mr Daymond said he caused when he stopped her choking on food

There was also a further area of bruising on the girl's pubic area which he told her was caused by Maya falling on to a child-sized chair.

The court has seen images of the large bruise taken by another relative and sent to a nurse, but Ms Carr told police she didn't actually see the picture or the bruise so had not known how significant the injury was.

Michael Daymond and Dana Carr are on trial at Teesside Crown Court

The court heard Ms Carr moved from Catchgate to Shotton Colliery at the end of August, with Mr Daymond staying over almost immediately.

She said she "never ever thought of anything untoward" happening, adding if she "had any inkling" she "would have made Michael leave".

It was only after his arrest on suspicion of Maya's murder that she "started to question everything".

'Loving little girl'

The interviewing officers said there had been at least eight injuries reported on Maya with four different family members raising concerns with Ms Carr after Mr Daymond came into their lives.

But Ms Carr maintained she had no idea what was happening and said Mr Daymond always had an explanation.

She said Maya always stayed the same "happy" and "most loving little girl" so had no reason to think she was suffering.

She told officers: "Do you not think I beat myself up about the day I left that house and think if only I didn't go to work?"

Police told her Mr Daymond claimed he had seen her pick Maya up and throw her on to a bed, hitting her head on a headboard.

Ms Carr told officers she "would never dream of doing that", adding her parents would have "jumped down my throat if I had done anything like that".

Mr Daymond also denies child cruelty between 23 August and 29 September relating to multiple assaults on Maya.

Ms Carr also denies child cruelty, based on the prosecution's assertion that she "covered up" for Mr Daymond and hid the abuse.

The trial continues.