Mother convicted of murdering 19-day-old daughter with catastrophic injuries

Nicole Blain has been found guilty of murdering her 19-day-old daughter. The baby suffered catastrophic injuries including broken ribs and three skull fractures. The 30-year-old claimed she found baby Thea Wilson lying on the floor of her Greenock flat in July 2023 and suggested the newborn had been dropped by another child. But jurors at the High Court in Glasgow rejected her account.

The trial heard evidence that some of Thea's injuries had been caused by blunt force trauma, while others indicated she may have been shaken. The baby was found to have two broken ribs and three skull fractures.

On the day of Thea's death, Blain was visited in the morning by a social worker who said the baby was in her crib and that the mother had complained of feeling tired. Blain was due to take Thea to visit her paternal grandmother Laura Wilson in Ayrshire later that day.

But early in the afternoon Blain called Wilson's mobile phone. The call was answered by her husband Alan, who told the court he had heard a child squealing in the background. "It was piercing and extremely loud. I thought it was an older child doing it, but then I realised it was the baby who was screaming," he told the court.

Blain then told Thea's grandmother she had found the baby with a bump on her head and said she had called an ambulance. Later, when they met at the hospital, Blain told her another child who was in the flat "had done it".

Blain had also spoken on the phone earlier to a support worker, telling her that another child had taken Thea out of the cot and dropped her. When the support worker arrived at the flat she dialled 999 after seeing that Thea was cold, not making any sounds and looked an "awful colour".

Giving evidence at her trial, Blain denied trying to throw another child "under the bus" by blaming them for what happened. She claimed Thea had been sleeping in a bedside crib and she herself had taken a nap, but was woken by a neighbour ringing the doorbell. She said it was only when she returned to the bedroom that she noticed Thea was lying on the floor without her nappy or the blanket that had been covering her.

Blain said she did not know exactly what had taken place because she was asleep, but she believed it must have been a "tragic accident".

During the trial the jury was shown text messages between Blain and Thea's grandmother that suggested she was struggling to cope after the birth.