Bail being granted against the wish of Gardaí

Tralee Circuit Criminal Court has heard that a woman beat her three-year-old daughter to such an extent, after she soiled the bed, that she died in hospital days later of brain injuries.

The child also had dozens of bruises on her limbs and a post mortem examination attributed the cause of death to swelling of the brain and bleeding of the brain, the court was told.

34-year-old Monika Paczkowska, Fountain Court, Tralee, pleaded guilty to the wilful ill-treatment of her daughter Sefora Kycwak in a manner likely to cause injury or suffering at her home in Tralee on 2-3 August 2005.

A charge of manslaughter was withdrawn.

Deirdre Murphy for the prosecution told Judge Carroll Moran the charge to which the accused pleaded under the Children's Act 2001 provided for a broad range of offences and this was at the most serious level.

Ms Murphy outlined to the court how Sefora was born prematurely and spent some months in hospital, in Holles Street and in Kerry General hospitals before being discharged home.

Neighbours who were called to the house in the early hours of 2 August found Sefora lying lifeless on the stairs and her mother hitting her in an attempt to revive her, Ms Murphy outlined.

The accused said her daughter had vomited after drinking cola and had fallen.

After being transferred to Kerry General Hospital by ambulance, doctors found the child was suffering from a brain bleed and they found extensive bruising.

They did not accept the mother's account that the injuries could be inflicted accidentally and they alerted gardaí.

Sefora died three days later.

Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster noted 31 areas of bruising to the head and neck along with dozens of bruises to the limbs and body.

She told the court that she also found older scars on the child's body.

Investigating officer Detective Sergeant Fearghal Pattwell said the accused was interviewed at Tralee Garda Station and did not participate in four of the six interviews, at one occasion throwing herself on the floor.

Gardaí had objected to bail but the accused was granted bail in the High Court and later absconded, Det Sgt Pattwell said.

Almost five years later, in January of this year she was arrested in London and extradited here, Det Sgt Pattwell said.

Paczskowska is from a Roma gypsy family originally from Poland and had come to Ireland as an asylum seeker.

Det Pattwell told the court that the accused had five children with three different fathers and had been married twice.

She was now in a relationship with another man with whom she had another child now aged two.

Denis Vaughan Buckley for the defendant said his client had been examined by a consultant psychiatrist and claimed she had been raped by four men at the age of 14, and had been physically abused by fathers of her children.

Mr Vaughan Buckley said his client accepted that she 'flipped' on the night in question but she did not want to kill her child.

Mr Buckley said Paczskowska was a person of good character who had a terrible life and was now in a relationship with a nice man who was very decent to her and very supportive.

Counsel asked for a suspended sentence, pointing out that his client was currently in protective custody in Limerick Prison and that situation would continue until whatever sentence imposed had been served.

He said Paczskowska still very much grieved the death of her child and apologised for her misbehaviour.

Judge Carroll Moran adjourned the case for sentencing until next Wednesday saying he needed time to consider psychiatric and post mortem examination reports.

He remanded the accused in custody.