Ali Jayden ‘AJ’ Doyle aged two who was murdered last Friday
Jade Dempsey (24), who also goes by the name Maguire, is originally from Dublin but had been living at Sycamore Drive in Dungannon.
She is also charged with perverting the course of justice by providing misleading information regarding the murder of Ali Jayden Doyle.
Her partner Darren Armstrong (32), originally from Enniskillen but with an address at Park Avenue in Dungannon, is charged with one count of murder and one count of perverting the course of justice.
The charges relate to the death of two-year-old Ali, affectionately known as ‘AJ’, who died on Friday from injuries sustained at Armstrong’s property of.
Emergency services were called to the bungalow. It was originally claimed the toddler had fallen, but after an initial medical examination Armstrong was arrested.
The toddler’s mother Dempsey was arrested on Sunday, after being handed over to police at the border by An Garda Siochana, before being charged with two offences in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
She is charged with having “caused the death of Ali Jayden Doyle by (her) own unlawful act or was, or ought to have been aware of the aforesaid risk, and failed to take such steps as (she) could reasonably have been expected to take to protect Ali Jayden Doyle from the risk”.
The two suspects appeared via video link at Omagh Magistrates Court.
Detective Sergeant Jamie Brannigan said he could connect both defendants to the charges.
He gave details about the “catastrophic” head injuries suffered by the child which the pathologist in their initial report said were unlikely to be accidental.
The detective told the court the pathologist said she had “never seen this level of injury on a child in an accidental fall”.
The court was told the child had “no evidence of previous trauma”.
After being transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital staff became concerned at the account given by the child’s mother and contacted social services and the PSNI.
The court was told Armstrong told doctors that Ali’s younger brother, a one-year-old, had hit her over the head with a toy and that she had fallen against a fireplace and hit her head.
The court was told that in April of this year, Dempsey was told by social services that Armstrong must have no access – supervised or unsupervised – with her children.
Despite this she had dropped both children off at the bungalow where Armstrong was living to travel to Belfast to collect a buggy she had purchased, but had only been gone 15 minutes she received a call to say Ali was injured and returned to the property.
Both accused made applications for bail but police objected saying both were flight risks.
Darren ‘Dazza’ Armstrong charged with murder of Ali Jayden Doyle
Solicitor Patrick Fahy, appearing for Armstrong, said his client had given a consistent account of what happened to the little girl and disputed that his client would be a flight risk.
James Strawbridge, acting for Dempsey, who was wearing a black top and a face mask, said they took issue with the connection and raised concerns during the interview process.
He claimed his client was a “a victim” in this case and as a grieving young mother should be released on bail to attend her daughter’s funeral planned for later in the week.
Magistrate Bernie Kelly said having considered all the information she did “not consider either a suitable candidate for bail”.
She added that Dempsey was “an actual flight risk” given her family support all live in Dublin.
The district judge also told the court that Armstrong had a “litany of breach of court orders”.
“As for Mr Armstrong, I entertain no confidence that he would adhere to bail”.
Both were remanded in custody to appear on September 1 at Dungannon Magistrates’ Court.
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