Aisling McCarthy Brady, the Irish nanny charged with first degree murder and assault and battery, pleaded not guilty at Middlesex Superior Court, MA.
The Lavey, County Cavan, native made her tearful plea in court on Thursday afternoon in Woburn. She is charged with the first degree murder and assault and battery of Rehma Sabir, the one-year-old baby in her care, at the baby’s Cambridge home on January 14.
The Middlesex Superior Court Judge Thomas Billings upheld the magistrate’s decision not to allow bail due to the severity of the charges and the fact that she is a foreign national with family outside the country.
The Middlesex Superior Court ordered that McCarthy Brady be held on $500,000 cash bail. The 34-year-old nanny has been in custody since her arrest on January 22.
Middlesex Assistant District Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald told the court baby Sabir was a victim of “abusive head trauma” and added that McCarthy Brady was the sole carer when the child was found unresponsive in her crib. Baby Sabir died on her first birthday at the Boston Children’s Hospital.
Fitzgerald said her injuries were consistent with “violent shaking and impact to the head.”
TThe prosecution argued that McCarthy Brady, who had been living in Quincy, Boston, without documents, was a flight risk. McCarthy Brady cannot be extradited to Ireland as this is now a capital crime.
McCarthy Brady’s lawyer, Melinda Thompson, asked for the bail to be set at $5,000 and said her client would agree to wear a GPS bracelet, to prevent her from fleeing the country.
She said, “She wants to answer to these charges...She wants to clear her name.”
Thompson went on to give a full outline of the timeline of events including how McCarthy Brady was completely involved in the initial call to 911 on January 14 and in the family's vigil at the hospital. She added that McCarthy Brady had co-operated with police and made herself fully available, until they came to arrest at her home in Quincy, on January 22.
Thompson once again reiterated her belief that McCarthy Brady is innocent. She said, “The wrong person has been charged with this crime.”
The defense lawyer also brought into question the other injuries discovered by the doctors, including fractures on the baby’s body that were between two weeks and two months old. Thompson pointed out that the baby had not been in McCarthy Brady’s care during December. Baby Sabir was also diagnosed with malnutrition.
McCarthy Brady will be held without bail until the 'pretrial conference' scheduled for May 9 at Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.
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