Mother sobs at murder trial when 999 call is replayed

A mother accused of murdering her three babies sobbed uncontrollably yesterday when her 999 call pleading for help was replayed in court.

Trupti Patel, 35, who had shown little emotion until then, listened intently to a recording of the call she had made after her son Amar stopped breathing. Removing her glasses, the pharmacist placed her head in her hands and began to weep in the dock, physically shaking as the tape neared its end.

At the opening of the trial at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, the prosecution said Mrs Patel had crushed or smothered her three newborn babies to death. "Against nature or instinct", she had killed them over a four-year period, the Crown alleged.

The deaths of Mrs Patel's two sons, Amar and Jamie, within 18 months of each other were initially put down to cot deaths. But two years later, when her daughter Mia survived for only 22 days despite extensive tests at birth, the police were called in.

The jury listened to the poignant 15-minute exchange with an emergency services operator on 10 December 1997, which began with Mrs Patel saying: "I have got a baby, he is not breathing."

After explaining how to resuscitate the child, the operator urged the young mother not to lose heart. "Keep on doing the same thing, I know it seems like a lifetime. Keep on doing the breaths, keep on doing these compressions. Just keep on going ... You're doing everything you can for your baby at the moment, you are doing a really good job."

Mrs Patel, who was living in Maidenhead, Berkshire, at the time of the deaths, denies murdering Amar at the age of three months; Jamie, who was 15 days old; and Mia.

Yesterday the first paramedic to arrive at Mrs Patel's home in 1997 said she seemed initially calm, in spite of her baby not breathing.

Andrew Batty said: "There was a young baby on the floor next to the telephone. I cannot remember exactly what she [Mrs Patel] was doing but it appeared as though she had been performing CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation]."

When asked by Paul Dunkels QC, for the prosecution, to describe Mrs Patel's state, he replied: "Initially she seemed calm. I told her who I was and asked if I could get to see the patient." The paramed-ic tried to resuscitate the baby. A heart monitor initially showed some sign of life.

Mr Batty said an "extremely upset" Mrs Patel had come with him as they followed the ambulance to Wycombe General Hospital in his vehicle. "She was upset and agitated as we were encountering quite a bit of traffic," he told the jury.

The court heard that when Amar arrived at hospital, intense efforts were made by a paediatric crash team to save the child but they were in vain.

Dr Gulab Rastogi, a consultant paediatrician, described how Mrs Patel had been in the resuscitation room while attempts were made to revive her baby. He met her and her husband, Jayant, some time after their baby was pronounced dead at 10.30am.

Dr Rastogi said: "Mrs Patel was very distressed. She was crying. She did answer some questions but most questions were answered by Mr Patel."

He said the Patels had told him that "Amar was coughing on 9 December and was generally sleepy and listless and not taking his feed ... She had gone to see Amar at [4am] as she heard him coughing ... When she saw him again at 9.30 in the morning she found he was limp and not breathing."

Dr Rastogi said tests had found evidence consistent with Amar having a cold but no signs of haemorrhaging behind the eyes, which would indicate he had been shaken. His diagnosis at the time was that Amar had died from sudden infant death syndrome.

The trial continues.

'Please breathe, Amar'

Excerpts from the call between Trupti Patel and the emergency operator:

TP: (sounding distressed): Hurry up somebody.

Op: How are you doing? The ambulance are well on their way ... Keep on doing those breaths and those compressions ... Have you just found him like this?

TP: Yes.

Op: You have. Right, OK what

TP: (Crying)...

Op: ... I know it's really difficult ... Keep pushing down with your fingers, two fingers, centre of the chest at the same time, so blowing and pushing at the same time, all right? ... You're doing really well, you're doing brilliantly.

TP: Oh no, please darling, wake up ...

Op: You're doing really well. What colour is he, what colour is he? What does he look like?

TP: He doesn't look alive, he's gone pale.

(Later)

TP: Please breathe, Amar.

Op: Is he still very pale?

TP: Yes.

Op: Right, just keep on going. Is he warm or cold? ...

TP: His hands are cold.

Op: Right.

TP: His face is getting colder.

Op: OK, what's his body?

TP: His body is warmish.

Op: Right, good. Keep going, you're obviously doing the right thing there ...

TP: OK.

Op: I know, it's really difficult.

TP: (Distressed) Can you warm up, please?

Op: You're doing really well, just keep on going.

TP: How long?

Op: ... Very almost with you. It just seems like a lifetime ...

(Later)

TP: Where are they?

Op: They're almost with you – it's the traffic, it's horrendous ...

TP: He's getting colder.