A three-month-old baby girl who was allegedly killed with a hairdryer in Peterhead may have been dead before she sustained the burns, a trial has heard. Dahlia-Rose Gartshore died at her home in Aberdeenshire in September 2023. Her mother, Courtney Gartshore, 28, denies culpable homicide.
Expert Testimony on Burns
Consultant plastic surgeon and burns expert Dr Timothy Burge told the High Court in Aberdeen that the heat injuries did not cause the infant's death. He said the baby's injuries indicated her head had been in one position, and he found it hard to think how a child in a lot of pain would not have moved. Burge told Murray Macara, KC, defending, he was on the National Crime Agency list of expert witnesses and had dozens of published works about burns.
The court heard Dahlia-Rose had suffered burns to 18% of the surface area of her body. Burge, giving evidence remotely after examining material related to the case, said if the baby had been alive at the time, she could have survived the burns. He stated: "It could have been she was already dead. I take the view the heat injury did not cause the death."
Cross-Examination and Cause of Death
Under cross-examination by advocate depute Alan Cameron KC, prosecuting, Burge was asked if the heat injury was possibly the cause of death. "I think it is not likely," Burge said. "But it's possible?" Cameron replied. "Yes," the defence witness said. Burge told jurors he did not know what the cause of death was.
The trial previously heard how Dahlia-Rose's DNA was found on the hairdryer. Prosecutors allege Gartshore "culpably and recklessly" caused her baby to be exposed to heat from a hairdryer while the infant was in her care. The charge states Dahlia-Rose's injuries were so severe she died as a result.
Additional Allegations
The Crown also alleges Gartshore consumed alcohol and had taken the Class B drug mephedrone while she was the baby's sole carer. Other charges she had originally faced have now been dropped by the Crown. The trial, before Judge Simon Collins, continues.
