The mother of a three-month-old baby who died from brain injuries told police she had never seen her husband violently shake her.
Christopher Easey, 31, is on trial at Norwich Crown Court after denying murdering his daughter, Eleanor, and a charge of cruelty.
The prosecution asserts she died as a result of an "non-accidental injury" inflicted by her father, while her mother, Carly, 36, denies a charge of allowing the death to occur and a charge of cruelty.
Paramedics found Eleanor "very pale, floppy and lethargic" after being to the couple’s home at Morton on the Hill, near Lenwade, on December 18, 2019.
She was later transferred to Addenbrooke's in Cambridge where she died two days later as the result of a catastrophic brain injury consistent with her having been shaken.
Transcripts of police interviews with Carly Easey were read out to the jury on Wednesday (February 16).
Asked if she had ever seen Christopher Easey shaking Eleanor, she told officers: “I have never seen him pick her up and shake her like you would a pepperpot or something.”
The court previously heard a 999 call from Mr Easey in which he said he had found the baby not breathing and had carried out CPR on her.
Mrs Easey told police that her husband had said he had “panicked” and did not know if he had “pulled her out of her chair too quickly”.
“He said when he took her into the kitchen to get her to breathe again and I didn’t know if he pushed too hard on her,” she added.
Asked about any other incidents that could have caused Eleanor’s injuries she said Mr Easey had braked forcefully to avoid a car accident causing the baby to scream.
She was also questioned about a game that saw Eleanor being rocked up and down on her parents’ knees.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. Maybe she was too young. But I was told to interact with her and I thought I supported her as best as I could. I just feel like I’m doubting my own parenthood,” she said.
She told officers she had been unaware that she was pregnant before Eleanor was born but that the first time she saw her “it was magical, she was so tiny”.
Subsequent hospital treatment had been “a stressful time” she said, but “not stressful as in I don’t want to be a parent”.
The trial continues.
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