Elsie Scully-Hicks: Murder accused 'deliberately calm' in 999 call

Elsie Scully-Hicks died two weeks after being formally adopted

A man accused of murdering his adopted 18-month-old daughter has told a court he deliberately remained calm during a 999 phone call.

Matthew Scully-Hicks, 31, of Delabole, Cornwall, denies inflicting catastrophic injuries on Elsie Scully-Hicks at their Cardiff home.

The prosecution put it to him that he sounded "quite calm in the call" after Elsie fell down stairs in March 2016.

Mr Scully-Hicks told Cardiff Crown Court he did not want to upset her.

Details of the call were read to the jury and prosecutor Paul Lewis QC asked the defendant: "What did you do that day that you tried to pass off?"

Mr Scully-Hicks replied: "Absolutely nothing."

Mr Lewis continued: "You made up an account to try to justify what you had done?"

The defendant replied: "I did not."

Mr Scully-Hicks later told the court: "I have given a truthful account, every time I've given a truthful account."

Mr Lewis earlier put it to him he made up "a story of ordinary domestic accidents to explain something you had done".

But the defendant told the court: "I've done nothing to Elsie ever."

When asked how the 18-month-old got a bruise on her head in December 2015, Mr Scully-Hicks said: "She lost her balance and hit her head on the corner of the unit."

Mr Lewis said: "It was a horrific bruise, did you think this was an injury you should have got checked out?"

Mr Scully-Hicks replied: "It did cross my mind, but there were no symptoms for me to think she needed medical attention."

The court was played a short video of Elsie from January 2016 appearing to show a new bruise on her head.

Mr Lewis said: "It's not as bad as the first bruise, but in effectively the same place, the left side of the forehead above the left eye. I'll ask you again, how did she get it?"

Mr Scully-Hicks replied: "I don't know."

He added later: "I don't remember it happening."

The defendant told the jury he "was able to cope" and "wasn't stressed" while acting as the sole carer for Elsie while his husband Craig, 36, worked away.

Elsie died at the University Hospital of Wales, in Cardiff, on 29 May 2016.

The trial has been adjourned until Monday.