Babysitter wins murder retrial

A babysitter serving life for the murder of her neighbour's two-year-old son today won her challenge against her conviction.

The Court of Appeal in London ordered a retrial for Suzanne Holdsworth, who was found guilty of repeatedly banging the boy's head against a wooden banister.

Her lawyers argued that fresh evidence demonstrated that she was the victim of a "serious miscarriage of justice."

The 37-year-old mother-of-two was accused of having "snapped" while minding Kyle Fisher at her home in Millpool Close, Hartlepool, while the child's 19-year-old single mother was having a night out.

Holdsworth consistently denied injuring the child and claimed he had suffered a fit as they sat watching television.

Lord Justice Toulson, quashing the conviction today, said: "Having listened to the oral evidence called on both sides and evaluated it in the context of the case as a whole, we do not consider that we can safely dismiss the medical scenario advanced on the applicant's behalf as definitely incredible."

A jury at Teesside Crown Court found Holdsworth guilty of murder in 2005.

She was jailed for life and told she must serve at least 10 years before she can apply for release on parole.

Having upheld her appeal, the Court of Appeal was deciding whether she should be released on bail pending the retrial.

The Court of Appeal was hearing an application for bail at 2.15pm today.