Newtownabbey couple on trial for five-year-old girl's murder

A mother and her husband have denied abusing and murdering an "innocent and beautiful" five-year old girl.

Nadia Zofia Kalinowska died after sustaining injuries at her home at Fernagh Drive, Newtownabbey, County Antrim in December 2019.

Her mother Aleksandra Wahab, 28, and 34-year-old stepfather, Abdul Wahab, went on trial in Belfast on Wednesday.

The court heard Nadia's injuries included a fractured skull and laceration to her liver.

Prosecution lawyer Liam McCollum KC told Belfast Crown Court that the girl had been subjected to a "campaign of child abuse" and that "a beautiful and innocent five-year-old child was tortured and killed in a place where she should have felt safe and secure".

The couple deny murder and other alleged offences of child cruelty and of causing Nadia grievous bodily harm with intent.

'Preposterous'

Mr McCollum warned the jury they could find some of the evidence upsetting and unpleasant because she had suffered "a large number of very significant injuries".

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These included a fractured skull, brain damage, injuries to Nadia's pelvis, collarbone and forearm as well as rib fractures and bleeding on the brain.

She had also sustained 70 surface bruises and abrasions.

The court heard Nadia was rushed to hospital from her home in Newtownabbey

Mr McCollum told the court that a postmortem also revealed injuries to the child's liver and bowel.

He explained that both the young girl's mother and stepfather claimed the injuries were accidental.

He said this was "preposterous" and insisted that the "weight and magnitude" of the injuries suggested serious abuse.

Rushed to hospital

The prosecutor said Nadia was rushed to hospital after her stepfather Abdul Wahab made a 999 call in the early hours of 15 December 2019.

When they arrived, paramedics treated the unconscious child in an upstairs bedroom and observed what they believed to be non-accidental injuries which prompted them to contact police.

Nadia was rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital and despite extensive medical intervention, she never regained consciousness. She was pronounced dead at 03:40 GMT.

The court heard that despite the older injuries, neither Nadia's mother nor stepfather sought any prior medical attention for her.

In the aftermath of Nadia's death both Mr and Mrs Wahab were arrested on suspicion of murder.

Mrs Wahab claimed that in the early hours of 15 December, she was woken by something heavy falling, later claiming she saw Nadia lying at the bottom of the stairs in pain.

When he was questioned, Mr Wahab said he was woken by his wife who said something had happened to Nadia. He also claimed to have seen Nadia at the bottom of the stairs.

He said that when he saw blood coming from Nadia's head, he washed her in the bathroom before taking her into a bedroom and calling 999.

The defendants and their defence teams will present their cases on Thursday.