Cavan nanny due before Boston court tomorrow

Seamus Enright The Cavan nanny at the centre of a US police investigation into the death of a baby girl in her care in Boston last month is due before the courts again tomorrow. Thirty-four-year-old Aisling McCarthy-Brady native of Moher, near Lavey is in custody in the US on charges of assault and battery of baby Rehma Sabir at the tot's Boston home on January 14 on her first birthday. It has been reported police had went to the address where baby Rehma lived, and where Mrs McCarthy-Brady cared for her on the afternoon of January 14, and found the baby girl unresponsive, breathing but unconscious. The child was subsequently hospitalised, suffering "massive brain swelling" but died two days later. She also had numerous bone fractures which were said by the prosecuting District Attorney to be in the process of healing. Since Mrs McCarthy-Brady first appeared before the courts in relation to the charges last month, her case has garnered worldwide media attention. From that appearance in January she was remanded to appear later this week when further charges, including one of murder, is anticipated following the conclusion the chief medical examiner's final report. However, since Mrs McCarthy-Brady's incarceration, defence attorney Melinda Thompson has labelled the prosecution's case as being "full of holes", particularly in terms of the timeline of events which have been established. Ms Thompson has most recently applied for access to Mrs McCarthy-Brady's daily journals, the child's travel itinerary, which includes time spent in the Far East prior to her death, as well as a list of names of those who had access to baby Rehma before her death. The 14 specific items listed in Thompson's motion include requests for access to laptop computers, hard drives, e-mails, voicemails, text messages, toll records, cellphones, medical records, daily journals, travel records, and immigration records. She has also requested a full breakdown of who baby Rehma travelled with, where she stayed and whether she was examined by medical personnel during her extensive one-month trip to England, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia. Unable to meet the $500,000 bail, Mrs McCarthy Brady has remained in custody at Framingham Prison since her arrest. She had been living illegally in the US since she overstayed her 90-day authorisation after entering the country in 2002, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has confirmed. She had also recently gotten married in the US to partner Cork-native Donald McCarthy. Since her arrest, both the Department of Foreign Affairs and Ireland's Consul General to Boston, Michael Lonergan have given assistance and advice to Mrs McCarthy Brady's husband, both her sister and brother who reside in Boston, and her family here in Ireland.