Babysitter cleared of murdering boy aged two

Epileptic fit was 'far more likely' to have caused child's head injuries, retrial is told

A babysitter who spent three years in jail for the murder of a toddler in her care was freed yesterday after doubts were raised about the medical evidence used at her first trial.

Suzanne Holdsworth, 38, had her conviction for murdering two-year-old Kyle Fisher overturned at a retrial after new evidence suggested he had suffered an epileptic fit brought on by pre-existing brain abnormalities.

Ms Holdsworth has consistently claimed that Kyle – who died in July 2004 – suddenly "went floppy" and collapsed as they watched television. He died two days later, having suffered internal bleeding and brain swelling.

During the trial, the prosecution accused the babysitter of repeatedly banging his head against a wooden banister after losing her temper.

Ms Holdsworth was jailed for life in March 2005 despite her defence team's claim that an epileptic seizure was more likely to have caused Kyle's injuries. An investigation by the BBC journalist John Sweeney suggested that Kyle had several brain abnormalities which made him highly susceptible to epilepsy. The Court of Appeal overturned Ms Holdsworth's conviction in May and ordered a retrial.

Yesterday, Ms Holdsworth, from Seacroft, Leeds, broke down in tears and sank to the floor as she was acquitted by jurors at Teesside Crown Court. Her daughters, Jamie-Liegh, 14, and Lesley, 20, and partner Lee Spencer, who campaigned to prove her innocence, stood with her outside court. She said she had thought she would never be freed, adding: "It was not only me... in there that was innocent. I thought I would be in there for ever."

Mr Spencer added: "This case has always been about Kyle, a loving child, a little boy who Suzanne has always loved and helped look after."

After Kyle died, a Home Office pathologist, James Sunter, reported that his brain was essentially normal. This claim was refuted during the retrial, when scientists argued that the child had five separate brain disorders. Dr Wainey Squier, a brain specialist, said the prosecution's case that the toddler had been attacked "would fly in the face of a large amount of clinical evidence" and an epileptic seizure was "far more likely".

Professor Renzo Guerrini, an Italian paediatric neurologist, confirmed that Ms Holdsworth's description of the child's symptoms during her 999 call indicated he had suffered a seizure.

The verdict is likely to put pressure on Cleveland Police, who failed to investigate crucial pieces of evidence. They did not carry out a DNA test on the banister against which Kyle was supposedly battered by his carer. Neither did they investigate the eye injury that caused his brain to scar in the first place: it is now thought to have occurred while he was in the care of his mother, Clare Fisher, 24.

Four nights before Kyle died, the retrial heard, Ms Fisher left him home alone, blocking his bedroom door so he could not get out.

Ms Holdsworth demanded a public apology from Cleveland Police, which the force immediately rejected. It said it would not reopen the investigation into Kyle's death.