LAST UPDATE | 6 May 2022

A WOMAN ON trial charged with the murder of a two year old child told gardaí that she fell asleep in her apartment only to be woken by her then partner who accused her of killing his daughter.

Karen Harrington is on trial at a Central Criminal sitting in Cork charged with the murder of Santina Cawley at an apartment in Elderwood Park, in Boreenmanna Road in the city, on July 5th, 2019. At the time she was in a relationship with Michael Cawley, the father of the deceased.

Harrington was arrested in connection with the murder of Santina Cawley on the 8th of July, 2019. Memos of a number of the Garda interviews were read to the jury this afternoon. 

The court heard that during her detention at Gurranbraher Garda Station in Cork city Karen told gardaí that she was a “caring” person who had taken over the raising of her younger sisters as a teenager. She also stated that Michael Cawley was a good father and that they had been together for about six months.

Harrington said that she had had an argument with Michael Cawley in the early hours of the 5 July, 2019 at her then apartment in Elderwood Park. She stated she had earlier had a disagreement with Michael whilst socialising in the home of a friend in the same apartment complex.

Harrington said whilst in the apartment of Martina Higgins at Elderwood Drive on the evening of the 4th of July Michael had accused her of kissing ‘foreigners’ in a casino in Cork.

She left the apartment in Elderwood Drive at around 1.30am. She told gardaí that when she went back to her apartment she accidentally broke a drinking glass. She stated she later cut her feet on the broken glass when arguing with Michael Cawley. When Michael returned with Santina at around 3am they started arguing again.

“I don’t know (about what). I am blank on what was said. Santina was crying. She was hysterical. I had her in my arms. I was trying to calm her. She was roasting. My last memory of her is taking his clothes off. I put her in a blanket and said I would check her and then I fell asleep. She had calmed down at that stage,” she said. 

Karen said that there was a knock on her door from neighbour Aoife Niamh McGaley who expressed concern about the noise emerging from the apartment. She also remembered being some what ‘ignorant’ and “ranting and raving” with neighbour Dylan Olney when he also mentioned the noise coming from the apartment.

She told gardaí that her next memory was of being woken from her sleep by Michael Cawley who had returned to the apartment.

“Michael was standing in front of me with the baby. I took her. She was lifeless. She was white. He was saying ‘what did you do to my child?’ She had a pale face. She was looking lifeless. I can see her lips. I imagined she was alive. I panicked and I ran. My mind was leaving me. I went blank,” Harrington said. 

Harrington said that Michael started “roaring” at her and that she left and went to the home of her friend Martina Higgins. When she didn’t get an answer she left the apartment complex and went to the nearby home of another friend.

Harrington was asked if she had taken any medication on the day that Santina was found critically injured. She said she hadn’t but she wanted to see how her blood (results) “came back.” She stated that she also hadn’t consumed that much alcohol.

She said Santina had been “hysterical” when Michael has returned with her at about 3am. She had ‘soothed’ her by picking her up .

“I had her in my arms for a while. She was grand. She was roasting but okay.”

She told gardaí that the argument with Michael had been ‘chaos’ but that it was just a verbal dispute and there was no violence.

“He didn’t hit me but there was a mark on my eye. But I don’t know where it came from,” she added. 

Walked to Hospital

Meanwhile a garda told a murder trial that he walked over six kilometres to Cork University Hospital (CUH) alongside the emotional father of the two-year-old alleged victim.

Karen Harrington (37) of Lakelands Crescent in Mahon, Cork is on trial charged with the murder of Santina Cawley on 5 July, 2019 at Elderwood Park in Boreenmanna Road in the city. Harrington was in a relationship with Michael Cawley the father of the child at the time of the alleged offence.

Santina was found lying under a stained duvet with critical injuries at an apartment in Elderwood Park at 5am on 5 July, 2019. She died at CUH at 9.20am on the same date in the arms of her mother Bridget.

Sergeant Brian Maher told a jury of seven men and four women at a Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork city that he attended at the scene In Elderwood shortly after 5am on 5 July 2019. He met Michael Cawley, the father of the child, outside the property at Elderwood Park.

“He was agitated and emotional. He was extremely distraught,” he said.

Cawley was very upset and kept asking about the condition of his little girl. Sgt Maher said that there was a smell of alcohol from Mr Cawley but “he did not seem to be intoxicated.”

“He was enquiring about Santina. Did I know if his daughter was dead or alive,” the sergeant added. 

Gardaí had asked Cawley to go in a garda car to Anglesea Street Garda Station but he declined to do so. Sgt Maher said that Mr Cawley wanted to go to CUH.

“I asked him to accompany me to Anglesea Street Garda Station to give me an account. He was emotional. He refused my request to go. I asked him to come with me. He did not want to.

“He wanted to go to Cork University Hospital. He wanted to walk from Boreenmanna Road (the 6km) to hospital. I said we would go together. So we set off to walk together.

“I continued to speak to him on the way to hospital. On numerous occasions, he wanted to know was she (Santina) alive or dead. I was trying to support him as best I could. He was extremely emotional,” the garda witness explained. 

When Sgt Maher arrived at the hospital he explained who he and Michael Cawley were. The father of the child sought information on her condition.

“CUH staff told us (the Gardaí) to help prepare Michael Cawley for the worst. During our time at the hospital, he had been crying and extremely upset,” Maher added. 

Sgt Maher said that when they arrived at CUH, Bridget, the mother of Santina, was already in the hospital as she had been informed of the critical condition of her child.

Sgt Maher was present when Michael Cawley was informed of the death of Santina at 920am on 5 July, 2019.

“It was an emotional time for Mr Cawley and for everyone involved including hospital staff,” the sergeant said. 

Later, Sgt Maher went with Cawley to his home in the Leeside Apartments in Grattan Street, Cork in a Garda car. Cawley voluntarily handed over his clothing for forensic testing.

Sgt Maher said Cawley again became very emotional when he saw his daughter’s toys lying in the apartment.

“On seeing his daughter’s toys in the apartment, he broke down again,” the sergeant added. 

Meanwhile, Sergeant Mark Leonard told the trial he had been called on three occasions to the Elderwood complex in the early hours of 5 July, 2019. Two of the calls involved noise complaints whilst the third call involved the discovery of the injured Santina.

Sgt Leonard said as he approached the apartment in Elderwood Park shortly before 5.30am on 5 July he heard a male voice shouting from upstairs.

“It was a male voice – shouting and screaming and crying,” Sgt Leonard explained. 

When Sgt Leonard went inside the apartment he saw Santina lying on a duvet.

“She was motionless and naked. She was pale blue in colour and appeared not to be breathing,” he added.

In the kitchen area, he saw a male (Michael Cawley) who was very upset.

“He was crying and screaming – he kept repeating: ‘She killed my baby.’ Later, he told me the ‘she’ he was referring to was Karen Harrington,” the garda explained. 

The case continues this afternoon (Friday) in front of Justice Michael McGrath and a jury of eleven people. The twelfth juror was excused from serving earlier this week.