RELATIVES of 13-week-old Cárágh Walsh wept as they heard the doctor who "initiated the police investigation" into her death describe "a beautiful, well, large, beautiful child".
Cárágh, who would have started P1 last month, arrived Belfast's Royal Hospital for Sick Children "lifeless", dying two days later on February 7, 2014.
Her father Christopher O'Neill, who was acquitted of her murder last year, declined to give evidence at her inquest yesterday.
His defence barrister Ronan Lavery QC said he was exercising his "privilege against self incrimination" as the former double jeopardy legislation, which prevented someone being tried twice for the same crime, no longer exists.
Cárágh's mother, Tammie-Louise Walsh left the courtroom several times during the harrowing evidence.
Coroner Joe McCrisken heard a paramedic describe finding Cárágh lying on a settee at her Glasvey Park home in Twinbrook "barely breathing" and her face "a ghastly white colour... blue around the mouth".
Colin Heaney told the inquest he ran to the ambulance carrying the baby, "carrying out CPR and giving her mouth to mouth resuscitation" as he went.
She was treated with more compressions and a "bag and mask device", the paramedic team managing to improve output to 10-12 breaths a minute.
However, the inquest heard this was just a third of the level needed for her heart to pump.
Once at the hospital, Cárágh was given adrenaline to restart her heart and, fearing the little girl may have succumbed to a dangerous blood infection or meningitis, doctors administered a powerful `broad spectrum' antibiotic.
Consultant paediatrician Dr Sharon Christie told the inquest "a non-accidental injury is way down the list" of things medics consider when a baby arrives in cardiac arrest.
Dr Julie-Ann Maney told the inquest that when the results of a CT scan came back they revealed she has "a severe traumatic brain injury, she had bleeding on her brain".
"Baby Cárágh had no obvious bruising or marks (but) she had no circulation (and it is) impossible to have a bruise if you have no circulation," she told the coroner.
The inquest heard the infant appeared well looked after and otherwise healthy.
"I found her to be a well-grown infant for her age. I remember looking at the clothes and the clothes were clean. I found her to be a well cared for baby," Dr Christie said.
Dr Maney said: "She was a beautiful, well, large, beautiful child."
However, a blood test showed she had high levels of the stress hormone cortisol, with Dr Maney telling the court "in retrospect her (maternal) grandfather was correct" to assert the GP had missed something during a recent consultation.
"She had fractures, she was in pain and she was in distress."
The doctor, who is also a paediatric forensic medical officer for the PSNI, said "aggressive" behaviour towards herself and another female colleague by Mr O'Neill - who admitted to shaking the baby - aroused her suspicions.
"I instigated the investigation. I phoned police. I phoned social services. I was extremely concerned that we had a non-accidental brain trauma.
"She was a three-month-old previously healthy baby girl who had a cardiac arrest, who had a traumatic brain injury"
Mr McCrisken paid tribute to the medics.
"You were delivered an dead baby, effectively. Within 12 minutes you had a heartbeat back. Everyone involved should be thankful that the medical team were there."
The inquest continues.
