A 32-year-man has been remanded into custody charged with the murder of a two-year-old girl in Dungannon, Co Tyrone.
The child's mother Jade Dempsey, aged 24, who is originally from Dublin but lives at Sycamore Drive in Dungannon, has been charged with causing or allowing the death of a child and perverting the course of justice.They confirmed that they understood the charges against them.Armstrong was arrested hours after the youngster was taken to hospital from the house in Park Avenue on Friday night and on Sunday, police also arrested Dempsey in connection with the death.
Armstrong told paramedics that Ali had been hit over the head with a toy by her one-year-old brother and she had fallen back onto the hearth.The court heard that Dempsey had left her two young children in the care of Armstrong on Friday as she planned to travel to Belfast to buy a buggy. While doing this she received a call to say that Ali was hurt and by the time of her return to the house paramedics were already on site.
A post-mortem examination, which was carried out on Monday, indicated that Ali's injuries were "more likely to be non-accidental than accidental". He added that a witness living close to the house reported hearing a child continuously screaming from the address and another crying "on two or three occasions until the screaming stopped".