Toddler died from blunt force trauma, court hears

A toddler, whose body was found on Sunday, died from blunt force trauma, a court has heard.

Januaria Sarmento Ximenes, 29, of Windmill Court, Dungannon, appeared before Strabane Magistrates' Court charged with the murder of Tavia da Costa and cruelty to a child.

Suzi Augusta Jacinta da Costa, 21, from Windmill Court, has been charged with manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person and cruelty to a child under 16.

Suzanna da Costa, 24, also from Windmill Court, has been charged with causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person and cruelty to a child under 16.

The denied the charges and were remanded in custody.

A detective sergeant told the court he believes he can connect the accused to the charges.

A Tetun interpreter was involved in proceedings. All three indicated they understood the charges.

Police objected to bail for all three on a number of factors, including potential risk of flight and interference with witnesses, as well as community tensions within the East Timorese community in Dungannon and recent anti-immigration protests in Northern Ireland.

The court was told that Mr Ximenes is the partner of the child's mother, Suzi Augusta Jacinta da Costa. The third defendant, Suzanna Da Costa, is an aunt of the toddler.

The prosecution said Tavia was born on October 27 2022 and lived with her mother and aunt in a small two-bedroom house in Dungannon, and evidence suggests she was "well looked after" by her mother, aunt and grandmother.

They outlined that Suzi Augusta Jacinta da Costa met Mr Ximenes in June, started a relationship and he moved into her home in August, where Tavia and Suzanna Da Costa also lived.

The child's grandmother was said to have told police that she had been "isolated" from Suzi and Tavia since June.

Tavia Da Costa, who was due to turn two this month, died at a house in Windmill Court in Dungannon on Sunday.

Police initially said they were treating her death as suspicious.

After a post mortem examination was carried out detectives launched the murder inquiry.

On Thursday, the court in Strabane heard that a post-mortem examination revealed the child's body had been covered in bruises.

There was evidence of the toddler having been shaken, and there were other non-accidental injuries such as grip marks on her arm and a scald burn to her ear.

The cause of death was found to be a brain injury caused by blunt force trauma.

All three accused appeared before the court via video from Musgrave police station in Belfast.

It was revealed that police had seen Mr Ximenes in a nightclub on Saturday night and he was said to be angry and aggressive.

Another witness told police they heard two women screaming hysterically at the address where Tavia lived between 02:30 BST and 03:00 on Sunday and it was intense and lasted for 10 minutes.

The prosecution said the screaming is significant and corresponds to the timeframe of Mr Ximenes leaving the nightclub and the infliction of a fatal head injury prior to the child's death.

The court heard that the child's grandmother said she got a call from her daughter to say there was something wrong with Tavia.

She advised taking her to hospital. When the grandmother arrived at the house Tavia was dead with a blanket over her face and appeared to have been dead for some time.

Her brother later came to the house and called 999.

The grandmother also told police that Mr Ximenes was "calm and emotionless", and suggested: "Let's resolve this as a family."

The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIFRS) arrived at the property at 09.21 and notified police, who started an investigation and arrested the three defendants.

During police interviews, the prosecution said initially Suzi Augusta Jacinta da Costa stated that Tavia had fallen and that Mr Ximenes was a "great guy", but later changed her account to say he was "violent and abusive" to both Tavia and to her, with the violence increasing from last Wednesday.

Suzanna da Costa said in interview that she had not seen Tavia since Tuesday and spent her time almost completely in her room.

She said she went to a party all night on Friday and slept all day on Saturday, but later said the party had been all day on Friday and she returned home on 22:00 on Friday and stayed in her room for 21 hours.

The court heard she said she did not see anything, but also that she did not like Mr Ximenes and stayed out of his way, adding she "heard nothing and saw nothing", and could not explain the screaming heard by the witness.

Mr Ximenes said he denied all wrongdoing toward Tavia and her mother, and that the child had fallen and they put hot water on her injury.

He also said he had not returned home until between 04:00 and 06:00 on Sunday after his night-out.

His legal defence said the only direct evidence against his client is Suzi's evidence and insisted he is entitled to presumption of innocence.

A legal representative for Suzi Augusta Jacinta da Costa alleged she had been a victim of domestic violence and coercion, and had been "completely under the control" of her partner.

Meanwhile, Suzanna da Costa's defence questioned her connection to the child cruelty charge and argued she did not have responsibility for the child at the relevant times in this case.

Judge Mullen described a "very sad situation where we have a very young child who has lost their life", adding: "We need to be mindful and respectful of that."

All three defendants, who deny the charges, were refused bail and remanded in custody until 13 November at Dungannon Magistrates' Court.