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.
The High Court heard today Dempsey initially lied to police because she feared another child would be taken from her.
Prosecutors said Dempsey changed accounts about how two-year-old Ali Jayden Doyle was left in the care of the man accused of her murder in Dungannon, Co Tyrone.
The little girl died in hospital after sustaining serious head injuries a week ago.
Dempsey faces charges of perverting the course of justice and causing or allowing the death of a child.
Her partner, 32-year-old Darren ‘Dazza’ Armstong, is accused of Ali’s murder and perverting the course of justice.
It emerged today that Armstrong has requested further post mortem examinations as part of his defence.
Paramedics called to his home at Park Avenue, Dungannon on August 6 at 11.06 am and brought the toddler to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, where she was pronounced dead.
Dempsey initially told police she had gone to the address to return a bank card, leaving Ali and her one-year-old son with Armstrong while she retraced her steps to look for a dropped child’s dummy.
She claimed that during the search her partner phoned to say the girl had stopped breathing.
When she ran back to the house Armstrong said Ali fell and struck her head against a fireplace after being hit with a toy by her younger brother.
During his initial police interviews, Armstrong claimed ‘AJ’ fell and hit her head and he took her to shower and poured cold water on her in a bid to waken up.
But he later changed his story saying he didn’t know what happened to the child as he was in the bathroom.
As Dempsey mounted an application for bail, Crown counsel Kate McKay disclosed that her co-accused had been prohibited from unsupervised contact with the children.
“It turns out that the initial version of events Ms Dempsey gave to police was in fact completely wrong,” the prosecutor said.
“She indicated that she had not told the full truth but was going to tell police exactly what had happened on August 6.”
Dempsey then claimed she actually planned to travel to Belfast that day to buy a buggy, leaving her son and daughter with Armstrong in contravention of social services care arrangements.
But on her way to the bus station he informed her by phone that Ali was no longer breathing.
“She said she screamed at him to get an ambulance,” counsel submitted.
“At one point he told her that he had used water on the child, and in fact her hair was wet when the ambulance called at the house.”
It was claimed that neighbours had heard unsettled children crying and screaming in the property.
In a reference to Dempsey’s son, Armstrong also allegedly sent her a text message saying “he’s melting my head”.
The court heard she recognised that her planned trip to Belfast went against specific requests to keep her children away from Armstrong.
“She admitted that she lied in her initial account to police because she was afraid of social services taking (her son) off her,” Mrs McKay continued.
Ali Jayden Doyle’s Jade Dempsey
With Dempsey originally from the Republic, bail was opposed on the grounds that she poses a flight risk.
She was arrested last Sunday in the Republic by An Garda Siochana and handed over at the border to the PSNI.
Further concerns were raised for her own safety due to social media comments about the case.
“The view of local police in Dungannon is that were this lady to return to that address there could potentially be trouble arising from it,” Mrs McKay added.
Adjourning the application, Lord Chief Justice Sir Declan Morgan indicated that Dempsey might be released from custody if safe and undisclosed living arrangements in Northern Ireland are found.
Dempsey and Armstrong first appeared at Omagh Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday of this week via video link from a Belfast police station.
Detective Sergeant Jamie Brannigan told the hearing 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 because of his violent domestic abuse history.
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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