Woman accused of killing baby told 999 call she 'turned purple'
Courtney Gartshore denies culpable homicide over the death of her baby daughter.
A woman accused of causing the death of her baby by exposing her to heat from a hairdryer told an emergency call handler that the infant had gone "purple" while she was asleep.
Courtney Gartshore informed the operator that three-month-old Dahlia-Rose's skin and fingers had changed colour without her noticing.
A recording of a 999 call made in the early hours of 30 September 2023 was played during the trial at the High Court in Aberdeen.
Gartshore, 27, denies a charge of culpable homicide along with several other offences.
She is accused of "culpably and recklessly" causing Dahlia-Rose to be subjected to heat from the hairdryer while the child was in her care in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire.
Prosecutors allege that Dahlia-Rose's injuries were so severe that they resulted in her death.
It is also claimed that Gartshore consumed alcohol and took the Class B drug mephedrone while solely responsible for the infant.
Woman accused of killing her baby daughter with a hairdryer
In the recording, played on the second day of the trial, Gartshore can be heard in a distressed state.
When the call handler asked if Dahlia-Rose was breathing, she replied:
No, she's dead.
She added:
I've literally just woken up and her head is all purple and, I just don't know, I need help.
Towards the end of the call, Gartshore told the operator that she and Dahlia-Rose usually slept through the night.
I feel so bad because I've been sleeping and she's obviously been like this for hours before she's like this.
Infant 'frozen and needed a blanket'
Earlier, the court heard from a neighbour of Gartshore, Leanne Thomson, who stated that Dahlia-Rose's face had been "frozen" after she touched her hours before the emergency call was made.
Thomson said Gartshore had been "shouting" after returning to the home on King Street following a night out drinking with friends.
Thomson described how she and another neighbour, with whom she had been drinking, went outside to see Gartshore.
She said Dahlia-Rose was in her pram and when she touched her face, she felt it was cold.
Thomson told Gartshore that her daughter "needed a blanket."
Gartshore, of Aberdeen, faces a separate charge of wilfully neglecting Dahlia-Rose on 29 and 30 September 2023.
This includes allegations that she drank alcohol excessively, co-slept with the baby while intoxicated, and possessed controlled drugs.
It is further claimed that the property was unsanitary, with soiled nappies and spoiled food and drink scattered around.
Another charge alleges that Gartshore was in possession of mephedrone and cocaine.
