New Parents Arrested For The Death Of Their Two Days Old Baby Girl

A baby girl's parents have been arrested on suspicion of murder after doctors switched off her life support, five months after she had been brought into hospital with catastrophic injuries.

Two-day-old Keira-Mae was rushed to Barnsley Hospital on May 16 and police attended after seeing the state of her injuries.

At 2.50pm on Monday, doctors at the hospital switched off the baby girl's life support, as she never recovered from her injuries.

Mother Aimee, 31, and father Alex, 38, run a dog kennel business from their red-brick semi-detached home in Dale Close, Athersley, Barnsley, South Yorkshire.

Both parents are being questioned by police over the circumstances surrounding their daughter's death.

Neighbours said the Jones were caring for about 16 dogs in kennels in their back garden.

'My girlfriend spoke to Aimee a few times recently and Aimee was saying that doctors at the hospital wanted to turn off her daughter's life support machine because she was not very well,' said the neighbour.

'We never saw them bring the little girl home and don't know how she got injured.'

Another resident said: 'It is a horrible thing to happen and I feel so sorry for the little girl.'

In July Aimee posted on her Facebook page: 'Our baby girl Keira-Mae has been in intensive care since 16th May 2020.

'We were recently told to start making memories with her, and our minds were blank as to what kind of things we could do.'

South Yorkshire Police stated that a 31-year-old woman and a 38-year-old man, both from Athersley, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are currently in police custody for questioning by detectives.

Detective Chief Inspector Phil Etheridge, the senior investigating officer, said: 'The injuries suffered by this little girl when she was just two days old were so catastrophic that she could not recover and her life support was withdrawn after four months.

'Our thoughts are with those affected and our specialist officers are supporting them throughout this incredibly difficult time.

'We have a dedicated team of officers assigned to this investigation. Two people are in custody and we are working hard to establish the exact circumstances leading up to this child's death.'

'I know that the local community will be shocked and deeply saddened to hear of her death and it's important that people feel able to talk about their concerns but I urge everyone to be mindful of what they post on social media, and not to speculate on what may have occurred.

'If you have information that may assist, it's important that this is passed to the police to form part of the investigation.'

Anyone with concerns or information is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident number 207 of 16 Sept 2020.

Alternatively, you can stay completely anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers via their website Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling their UK Contact Centre on 0800 555 111.