(suspenseful music)
[William] You went to the police and told them lies?
No, I didn't.
No, I didn't go to the police and tell them lies-
[William] So it is the truth?
(suspenseful music)
You just want someone to say, do you know what,
I believe you.
(suspenseful music)
She's very much likely to fall
in the hands of the prosecution,
so they can scrutinize her evidence,
and tear it apart.
(suspenseful music)
That does not make me someone who is abusive
to children, because I'm not.
(suspenseful music)
If they think that,
then they think we're monsters.
(suspenseful music)
[Man] Is the breathing noisy at the moment?
[Kyle] I don't think she's breathing
on her own, I'm breathing for her.
[Kenzey] Please keep breathing, Kyle!
[Man] Okay.
[Narrator] On November the 3rd, 2014,
a call was made to NHS Direct.
[Man] Okay.
[Narrator] An eight week old baby girl
was fighting for her life.
[Man] Okay, so the emergency ambulance
has already been requested.
Has she taken any odd medication?
[Kenzey] Kyle, breathe!
[Man] Kneel by the side.
[Kenzey] Keep breathing!
[Narrators] Doctors discovered
she had a fractured skull,
bleeding on the brain,
and severe retinal hemorrhaging.
Injuries which left her brain damaged and blind.
(suspenseful music)
The next day,
her 21 year old mother Kenzey,
and the baby's father, Kyle, were arrested.
Kyle was charged with grievous bodily harm.
Kenzey with witnessing the assault,
and failing to protect her child.
(suspenseful music)
It's the first time Kenzey's been accused
of a crime
If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison.
(suspenseful music)
They actually arrested us the day after.
I just felt sick.
I remember saying,
you ask me anything you wanna ask me now,
I've got nothing to hide,
say whatever it is you need to say,
'cause I need to get back to the hospital,
I need to be with her.
It's heartbreaking.
It's heartbreaking, because to turn round,
and throw that at you is one of the worst things
any parent could be accused of.
(soft eerie music)
[Narrator] After her arrest,
Kenzey's injured baby was removed from her care
by social services.
A year of police investigations
into her and Kyle followed,
before charges were laid.
And the Crown Prosecution Service
has spent five more months
gathering evidence to use against her.
(soft eerie music)
Her trial is now nine weeks away.
As it currently stands,
the allegations that have been made against me
are either, you know, I should have known,
or I did know something,
which isn't the case.
At the moment,
there's a lot of speculation, speculating.
All I do know is I can say 100%
is that I know it wasn't me,
and neither would I have allowed that,
I wouldn't have allowed that to happen.
She's my child, and she was loved.
You feel it every day.
You know, it doesn't go away.
It's something every day that I think about.
It's been a year and a half,
and I've never, ever got my head around that,
and I'm constantly looking for answers.
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] Kenzey is being represented
by criminal law firm, GT Stewart.
Barrister Ronnie Manek
is leading the preparations for her defense.
If the client is new to the system,
never been in custody before,
or police custody,
they're very anxious, very apprehensive
about what will happen next.
Criminal trials, they take a long time
to get to trial.
From the very outset of charge,
it can go a bit quiet,
and they get on with their lives,
and then it suddenly sort of surfaces,
and you will have to face up to it one day.
And that day will come at your trial.
The stress that goes with a trial process,
for a suspect who's never been
in this position before, is huge.
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] To challenge the prosecution's case,
Kenzey's legal team needs to assess
thousands of pages of written evidence,
and hours of video and audio recordings
that they've submitted.
One of the most significant is Kenzey's call
to NHS Direct,
in the early hours
of Monday the 3rd of November, 2014.
(suspenseful music)
Assisting Ronnie with the case
is solicitor William Bache,
a leading specialist in baby shaking cases.
Kenzey, how are you?
[Kenzey] Hiya.
[Narrator] He needs to establish
Kenzey's version of events
shortly before the call.
Can I carry anything for you?
[Narrator] The period in which
medical experts say the injuries
must have been inflicted. Thank you.
All right, then.
[Kenzey] Not being with Kyle 100% of the time.
You know, I can't say yes, 100%,
but actually, if you're asking me my feeling,
and what do I think?
I don't think he has done anything.
Yes, all right.
I'd like to go to the Sunday night,
and you are in the kitchen.
And Kyle is in the lounge, with the child.
You were in the kitchen with the door shut,
making up a feed.
Did you hear anything?
I'd said, at some point,
I thought I heard crying,
and I opened the door.
And he said, oh no, it was just the telly.
So I said, oh, right,
it sounded like crying.
So I shut the door, and carried on.
[William] Yes, so how did things go
on from there?
And then, I said to him,
she seems a bit floppy.
You know, what if something's wrong with her,
and she's having a fit or something?
So this is very important.
Just don't go too quickly,
because I would like to get it.
In that instant,
you realized there was something wrong.
[Kenzey] I thought something
didn't seem quite right with her.
Straight away? Yeah.
And then he just went, oh no, she's fine,
she's just tired.
And that completely threw off
whatever I was thinking,
because I thought,
oh, I'm just making a fuss about something.
I just didn't think anything further,
and went to bed, so.
All right, so then what happens after that?
During the night,
she made some different sounds.
But when I picked her up,
she cried, but it seemed
like a lot of effort for her.
Obviously, she was unwell.
I had my phone, and I made a search on Google.
[William] What words did you use?
[Kenzey] Well, I don't know.
[William] As best you can remember.
Well, the prosecution says that I-
[William] No, no, I don't want to know
what the prosecution say,
I want to know what you say.
Well, I don't remember exactly what I put in.
Just something in my mind, just went,
actually, why don't you just call
the NHS for advice?
I sat up, and I passed her over to Kyle,
and I don't really know
exactly what he was doing,
but he blew a couple of times in her mouth.
And I didn't say anything,
but I do remember thinking, what's he doing?
You know, not thinking anything of this.
[William] Kyle was blowing in some way into her mouth?
[Kenzey] Not repeatedly, but he done it
sort of a couple of times.
[William] Before making the call.
[Kenzey] Yeah.
(sorrowful eerie music)
[Woman] Thank you for calling NHS 111.
This service is-
[Narrator] Ronnie and his colleague,
Kevin Williams, are listening to a recording
of the call.
[Woman] Please hold the line,
and your call- Trouble.
[Man] Good morning, you're through to NHS 111,
and you're speaking-
[Ronnie] I'm not entirely sure
that that's the actual correct transcription of it.
[Kenzey] But she sounds very nasally,
and she keeps like, twitching.
Like her head keeps sort of,
she's stopped now, but she's just so floppy
and everything, and her breathing-
[Man] But you said she's still asleep, yeah?
[Kenzey] She's still asleep, yeah.
[Man] Okay, so floppy makes sense
when they're still asleep.
[Narrator] Medical experts say
the injuries to her baby
were deliberately inflicted.
The prosecution is arguing
that Kenzey had seen her boyfriend assault
their daughter, and was trying to cover this up
when she made the call.
[Kenzey] She won't wake up, though,
this is the thing.
[Man] I need you to wake her up.
[Kenzey] Okay, Kyle, try and wake her up.
[Man] Make sure you can wake her up.
[Kyle] She's got blood around her face.
[Kenzey] She's got blood
around her face. On her nose.
[Kenzey] On her nose.
Oh my God, I'm really scared now.
[Man] Don't be scared, all right?
[Kenzey] I don't know
why she's just so floppy, I'm quite-
[Man] Are you still continuing
to try and wake her up?
[Kenzey] Yes.
[Man] Yeah, all right.
[Kenzey] Kyle, is she still breathing?
[Man] Is the chest still coming up, yeah?
[Kyle] No it's not, she's got like,
her whole nose is blocked.
[Man] Okay, but is the chest still rising
up and down? It's a bloody color,
and it's sort of bubbling.
[Man] Blood bubbling from the nose, yeah?
[Kyle] And her mouth.
[Kenzey] Kyle, pick her up, please.
[Kyle] No, don't pick her up.
[Kenzey] Please, please make her safe!
[Man] Is the breathing noisy at the moment?
[Kyle] I don't think she's breathing on her own,
I'm breathing for her.
[Kenzey] Please keep breathing, Kyle.
(puffing)
[Man] Nice rhythm.
[Kyle] Have you sent someone?
[Man] Okay, that's already been sent,
that's been sent, that's already been sent through,
I've already organized an ambulance for her.
Has she taken any odd medication?
[Kenzey] Kyle, breathe!
[Man] Kneel by the side.
[Kenzey] Keep breathing!
Stop Kyle, don't ever stop,
just keep doing it.
Is she still alive, I don't know.
Oh, baby, come on.
(soft eerie music)
They're here, they're here,
they're here, they're here, okay.
[Man] Are they there with you now?
Obviously, it's quite an emotional call.
But if you notice at the start,
it was quite calm.
She was quite calm,
she was quite quite calculated,
and she was able to describe what was going on.
And then she became
extremely hysterical and crying
as soon as the blood was mentioned.
Can we just go to the beginning of the,
I'm in trouble,
because that's quite a damaging comment,
which the prosecution will no doubt play on.
[Narrator] It's alleged that as the call connects
to the operator,
Kenzey can be heard saying to Kyle
that she's in trouble.
[Woman] Please hold the line,
and your call-
[Kenzey] In trouble.
I don't know if, can you make it out,
because I'm struggling to make it out?
So we can be perhaps go back a few seconds?
You certainly hear the word trouble,
whether you could confidently say
she says, I'm in trouble.
[Woman] The line, and your call-
[Kenzey] In trouble.
[Man] Good morning, you're through to NHS-
There's no way that that, I can't decipher
that that is saying, I'm in trouble.
She does appear to say something like trouble,
but not, I'm in trouble.
Yeah, I agree.
[Ronnie] It depends how much emphasis
the Crown are placing on this.
(suspenseful music)
[Kenzey] I'm not sure if you picked up on it,
but according to someone,
I've said, I'm in trouble.
Don't actually know where they're getting that from,
'cause I know fine well I never said anything
along those lines.
[William] Right then, let's just go back
to when the ambulance people arrived at the flat.
I remember her being held
by the female paramedic,
and her all in one was just cut down the middle,
and she was just,
she just looked lifeless.
[William] Do you remember,
or can you describe
what Kyle's demeanor was in front
of the ambulance staff?
He was just very emotional, I remember he-
[William] How does he show he's being emotional?
He was trying to cling onto me,
and I'm not the sort of person, that, like,
I don't wanna, like,
he was trying to hold me,
and I didn't wanna be held.
I didn't even feel like I was here.
It didn't feel real.
You've just woken up
from a really horrendous,
worst possible, awful nightmare.
Everything is just black, you just,
and you're still panicking.
[William] Yes.
If we cross-reference the evidence,
firstly taking, I'm in trouble,
with the medical response team's evidence,
where he states
that Kyle went to hold Kenzey's hand.
Of course, she then pulled away,
and says, don't you dare touch me,
get away from me, don't touch me again.
And that's at witness page, 103.
Putting that into context of this,
the prosecution will no doubt put a spin on it
on the fact that she must have known,
prior to that call,
that she has been shaken,
or suffered blunt trauma.
Either by eyewitness,
in terms of her witnessing anything,
or whether she was told by Kyle
that he had done something.
So when pieced together,
I have to say,
the prosecution case does look
a little bit stronger than at first blush.
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] In seven weeks,
22 year old Kenzey will stand trial
for failing to protect her baby daughter
from a violent assault, by her boyfriend, Kyle.
An assault that she claims never happened.
Sometimes when I'm walking,
I feel a bit conscious
that I'm just gonna see someone.
Like bumping into some of the police officers.
If I was to see them in the street,
I'd avoid them, I wouldn't want
to bump into them.
[Narrator] Just being accused
has already brought a heavy punishment.
After her arrest 18 months ago,
Kenzey's injured daughter was taken away
by social services,
because Kenzey was deemed
to be a potential risk to her.
Kenzey then moved to a new area.
When you see people
with their children and stuff,
like I just saw a lady with her pram,
and I always think, that should be me.
You know, why is that not me?
I suppose as well, because obviously,
when I moved here, I had Kyle here as well.
So it's kinda difficult,
that he's not round and stuff as well.
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] Kyle has now been remanded
in custody until the trial.
But before he was remanded,
Kenzey became pregnant with a second daughter.
Immediately after the child was born,
she was also removed from Kenzey's care.
[Kenzey] We had to go to court
while I was still in hospital.
And the judge made the decision
that she should be placed elsewhere.
It was traumatizing.
(suspenseful music)
It's such a life changer, having a child.
And it's precious as well, you know.
You're gonna do this,
and you're gonna do that.
And you do all these wonderful things,
but you never think
that's gonna be taken from you.
And I guess just visualizing that feeling
of when they're home.
It's just that that keeps me going.
(soft suspenseful music)
[Narrator] Kenzey's defense preparations
are being led by barrister, Ronnie Manek.
Once you're accused of a crime,
and you're charged,
the public automatically assume you're guilty,
because the prosecution bring the case,
and the police bring it,
so they must be right.
Sometimes it feels like David against Goliath,
because you have the individual,
with their legal aid lawyer,
and then you have three or four police officers,
the reviewing lawyer and prosecution,
and other paralegals and caseworkers,
and then the barrister.
So you feel like you've got a whole team
that you have to face and confront,
and it sometimes doesn't feel
like a level playing field.
Right, she said a few things-
[Narrator] More evidence has arrived
for Ronnie to consider.
A voluntary police interview
that Kenzey gave to the child abuse investigation team
two months after her daughter had been injured.
[Man] Is that her?
[Kevin] Yeah, looks different, doesn't she?
[Man] I was expecting a blonde.
There was an argument between me and Kyle,
the end of September,
and then he was arrested, domestic violence.
And the reason that actually started
was because Kyle,
he was saying to me,
you don't need to go to her every time she cries.
And I said, yeah, but if I know why she's crying.
So it seems like very early on,
there's always been like, maybe jealous tendency?
But the week before she became unwell,
Kyle was feeding her.
And I remember him saying,
oh she's just a greedy cunt.
And my reaction to that was just,
how dare you say something like that.
She's not a greedy cunt, she's a baby.
You can't be, it's verbal abuse,
you know, he verbally abuses me,
but to be verbally abusive
to the baby, she's hungry,
if she's hungry, you know,
there's nothing wrong with that.
But as time has gone on,
and because of Kyle's behavior,
and reflecting back on things,
there seems to being a bit of a pattern emerging.
And I think the warning signs were there,
but obviously, you don't expect anything
like this to happen, so.
But yeah, so.
[Woman] I'm just gonna pop next door
and have a quick chat-
[Kevin] It's done now, Ronnie.
She comes back and then says,
there's nothing else to talk about.
So, shall we turn it off there?
Yeah.
On one hand it's helpful,
on one hand it's helpful
about her state of mind,
and it's upon reflection.
It's all upon reflection,
because this is done two months later.
Not actually, that's what she felt at the time.
But also, she does say,
I think the warning signs were there.
[Kevin] Yeah, well,
you wouldn't want that going in,
I just think you should avoid it.
[Ronnie] What's your view about why
this has been recorded?
Because you'll know
that she's voluntarily attended
the police station.
I think their intention at that stage
is to use her as a prosecution witness.
Because if I remember rightly,
she told me that her and Kyle
were having some arguments.
I think it's around this time.
[Ronnie] It helps them against her,
because of the background,
and the acrimony in their relationship,
it quite suggests that she ought to have known
in relation to his violent background.
(soft eerie music)
(sighing)
[Narrator] Her solicitor William Bache
wants to quiz Kenzey about the interview.
You gave a couple of voluntary interviews
to the police, didn't you?
Yeah, I don't want that used.
[William] I'm sorry, it's there.
It's in the evidence.
We can't get away from it.
We have to deal with it.
[Kenzey] Voluntary?
[William] Yes.
Why don't you want to deal with it?
Because at the time,
my mindset was very different,
and I'll be quite honest,
I was very pissed off about one thing or another,
and I wasn't actually educated-
[William] Well was it the truth or wasn't it?
No, I was just think-
[William] You're telling me you went
to the police and told lies?
No I didn't go to the police
and tell them lies, I went-
[William] So it is the truth?
Well it is, but what I'm saying is,
some things I think are slightly exaggerated,
because I was pissed off at him.
So when you're pissed off at someone,
you tend to, rather than saying,
I don't know how to explain it,
but you know, you are angry with someone,
so you, do you know what I mean?
But, the things that I said
I feel are quite harsh, and maybe-
Well I'm afraid we're going
to just have to tackle it.
[Narrator] In a different police interview
with Kenzey, it was alleged
that she was complicit
in covering up Kyle's assault.
Now going to this interview,
one of the things we found on Kyle's phone
was a search.
Yeah, on the web search,
it said that the search was, baby don't wake up.
That was made at an exact time as 5:44.
Okay.
The NHS direct number was called at about,
let's have a look, at 5:52.
Seven or eight minutes later.
You've left it eight minutes to phone 101.
But what we're saying
is that perhaps something had happened,
and you've decided like,
you're right with suggestions
that collusion could take place.
Or one of you had decided, let's phone 111,
and while we're on the phone,
make out then she stopped breathing,
so it all looks normal,
and then the ambulance is called.
I mean, I don't know
who these people think they are,
and what they think exactly has happened,
but reading that, it's fucking sick,
and it's nothing like that,
and it makes me fucking furious.
(police siren blaring)
(suspenseful music)
I'm just in complete limbo,
because I'm like, yes,
I know we wasn't a perfect couple,
but I haven't done this.
And I don't believe Kyle has either.
And I'm not gonna change that.
Unless like, you know,
there's some really significant evidence
that came forward and was like, look,
this is the only way this could have happened.
Just because we had our moments,
and we was volatile at times,
doesn't mean that that person is then going
to go and do something to a child, you know?
So to make that assumption
is a big assumption to make,
and it's completely wrong.
(suspenseful music)
A lot of this is in Kenzey's own hands.
If it wasn't her that had caused the injuries,
then it would have had to have been Kyle,
who was at the time, her partner.
I wish I could just tell her
to wake up and smell the coffee,
and deal with the reality of the situation,
which is looking after her own interests.
Because if she doesn't,
there's a real risk
that she will be convicted of this case.
If she were to be convicted,
there is a risk that she will face
an immediate custodial sentence.
She would never get to see her children.
Her stakes are very high in her case,
because she has a lot to lose.
(train rattling)
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] Social services only allow Kenzey
to see her children a few times each year.
[Kenzey] It's just got lower, and lower, and lower,
the time that I spend with her.
It started off every day for four hours,
it then went to three times a week
for two hours, to once a week,
to once a month, to four times a year
[Narrator] The injuries sustained
by Kenzey's daughter,
injuries that 16 medical experts say
were the result of an intentional assault,
have left her with serious health problems.
She regularly requires long stays in hospital,
and Kenzey's mother, Maz,
visits her often,
seeing for herself the care and attention
her granddaughter requires.
She's got cerebral palsy in all four limbs,
with dystonia, which is stiffening
of the upper limbs,
and the bottom part is very floppy.
She's got an unsafe swallow,
so she doesn't have anything orally,
so she's peg fed through her stomach,
and she's got inhalers now,
more recently as well, for her breathing,
'cause her breathing's got bad.
She's got scoliosis,
which is curvature of the spine.
And her hips are dislocated.
And possibly her knee, as well.
[Narrator] Aware that her granddaughter needs
more than the hospital can provide,
Maz does what she can to help.
I just try and do the best
I can for her, and, you know,
try and get her anything that's available
out there for her to do,
like the music therapy,
and she goes to the cerebral palsy center
once a week.
They're things that
I've arranged privately myself.
I'm just sort of trying to pick
up the pieces from the mess left behind,
if you like.
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] Kenzey used to work
for a homeless charity,
but left after the stress of being accused,
and having her children taken away
became too much.
Well, they're new.
They were in a box, so I want 2.50.
[Narrator] Her defense case
is being paid for by legal aid.
(suspenseful music)
Since last year now,
I've been doing some fundraising sort of thing,
just raising money
for her further treatments,
and different therapies,
'cause obviously, she's got quite complex needs,
so she's gonna have to need further treatment
and further therapies in the future.
So this is just one of the ways
in which I get that money together,
just running boot sales, and, yeah,
you know, it's good fun to get out,
and obviously, because I know why I'm doing it,
I'm very passionate about it.
(suspenseful music)
I just remember when she was born,
it was just like getting into a routine.
You go to the park.
Always had her there with me.
And seven weeks just flew by,
it just went so quick.
I still think in my mind, why?
Why us?
You know, why my family?
If I could swap places with Kenzey,
I would take it all away from her,
and I'd take it.
It's not fair what she's going through.
She don't deserve it.
You know, she's worked hard
since she left school.
She's a good kid.
You know, she's never drunk,
smoked, took drugs.
Always been a caring person.
Always done good things for other people.
[Man] She finds it hard to think of Kyle
as someone who also has done anything wrong.
I can't say he definitely did,
or he definitely didn't.
Obviously ,I don't know, I wasn't there,
I don't know.
But I would be surprised, to be honest,
if he did, 'cause he never struck me
as the kind of person
that would do something like this.
Obviously, I have to keep an open mind.
(soft eerie music)
[Narrator] Even though her legal team
have advised her not to,
Kenzey has kept in regular contact
with Kyle whilst he's been in prison.
He calls me baby doll. (chuckling)
It just says, hi, baby doll.
Firstly, I miss you ladies very much,
And I wish I could cuddle up to you all.
For me, that is a dream come true.
The closer I get to this trial,
at least then I will know how long I have to wait
for that day.
In the meantime, focus on the positives,
and keep praying that one day,
we will be a family again.
Love you, forever.
This one is from Easter.
Says hi, baby doll.
I found a poetry book
with all kinds of First World War poetry in it.
So the first is called Everyone's Saying,
which I feel has some slight relevance
to our freedom and our wanting of unity,
here it goes.
Everyone suddenly burst out singing,
and I was filled with such delight.
As prison birds must find in freedom,
winging widely across the white,
everyone's voice was suddenly lifted,
and beauty came like the setting sun.
It just feels like it used to.
Like how we would be with each other,
and it gives me a sense of normality.
My life hasn't always been as it is now.
[Man] It would potentially help your defense
if you were to distance yourself.
I think, I can understand that approach,
and actually, in a way,
I have distanced myself,
because I've not seen him,
and I have kind of taken that middle line,
and that's where I am.
I'm on that middle line.
And when people use the words,
intent, or maliciousness,
I mean, who is anybody,
you know I can't even make that judgment,
so how can a stranger make that judgment?
It's just completely beyond me,
the only person that can make
a judgment here is God.
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] Kenzey already faces
up to 10 years in prison.
For failing to protect her baby daughter
from what independent medical experts say
must have been a serious assault.
Now, the challenge facing her
and her defense team
has become much more serious.
The prosecution have added a further charge,
which increases the chances
of Kenzey being convicted.
Cruelty to a person under 16,
contrary to section 1.1
of the Children and Young Persons Act, 1933.
Willfully, and I emphasize the word willfully,
because that means
knowingingly and deliberate, okay, right?
[Kenzey] I'm gonna end up using
the C word in a minute.
Don't.
But hang on, let me finish.
Assaulted, ill treated, neglected,
or exposed the said child
in a manner likely to cause the said child
unnecessary suffering,
or injury to health.
What that effectively means-
They will fucking suffer if they fucking carry on
like this, 'cause I'm not having it.
Right, okay.
I'm just advising you on what is going to happen.
On one hand, they're saying
that you've neglected her by not seeking
medical attention quick enough, all right?
Hold your thoughts on that one.
Secondly, it's that you've exposed her
to a situation or an environment willfully,
knowing that Kyle is violent,
and can be aggressive,
and which would likely to cause her
to suffer unnecessarily,
or cause injury to her health.
I'm just not gonna stand in that box
at any point, and go on like I knew something,
because first of all, I don't.
Second of all,
I never see Kyle do anything,
in any of the time.
[Ronnie] You say that, you say that.
So I'm not gonna stand-
That helps you.
Because you not seeing Kyle being aggressive,
that means you could never have known
or suspected or ought to have known
that there's a significant risk.
So that's great, you say that.
Do people not think,
that I wouldn't have give Kyle,
I wouldn't have-
I agree with you, 100%, Kenzey.
What we can't tell a jury
is how the injuries happened.
Because you don't know when Kyle took her away,
whether it happened,
and only Kyle knows, nobody else knows.
It's stupid that they come out
with this crap,
because if someone had done something,
they'd think, fuck it, ooh, you know,
let's just say we dropped her,
or let's just say, you know,
but no one's done that,
because at the end of the day,
no one's got nothing to hide!
Does that make sense?
[Ronnie] Well, not necessarily, because-
Well, okay, I can't speak 100% for Kyle,
I know, and I can't speak 100% for anyone in this world.
Kyle's not gonna necessarily tell you, he might t
he might not tell you, he may wish not to tell you.
You may not think he's done it, that's fine.
That's your personal opinion.
I don't know whether Kyle's done it,
neither do the prosecution.
But based on circumstantial evidence,
a jury could conclude that they're sure
that Kyle did cause the injuries.
Because in that window of, for example,
45 minutes in the kitchen,
but if they're not sure,
then they'll find him not guilty.
Do you see?
She doesn't want to believe it.
She doesn't want to assist the prosecution
in convicting him,
where he's looking
at a very, very long prison sentence
for his part in this.
But, it's hard, because I'm not in it.
And if I'm a lawyer,
I would be advising her to do that.
But if I take myself out of the lawyer capacity,
and try and put myself in her shoes,
it's extremely, extremely difficult
to try and portion blame on a loved one
that you don't want to accept
that they would have done this to the child.
(soft suspenseful music)
[Narrator] Just how aware Kenzey was
of Kyle's tendency to violence
is becoming central
to the prosecution's case against her.
In order to address the accusation
that Kenzey and Kyle's relationship
was a key factor in the alleged crime,
solicitor, William Bache,
needs to know more about them.
We got on well to begin with.
We got on went very well.
I think it was more towards
the end of that year
when things were a little bit rocky.
He could be abusive.
So he'd say things. Give me an example
of what he would say.
Oh, well, you're just being a bitch,
and it was like, you know,
I don't tolerate people
being verbally abusive towards me.
You know, whether it be Kyle,
or the queen, I won't tolerate anyone.
[William] Did it ever progress to the point
where he became physically aggressive?
To be honest, he's never like,
punched me, or done anything in that sense.
But throughout the pregnancy,
there were, on occasions,
there were still these heated arguments
over silly things.
And I found the verbal abuse
had got a bit more, you know-
Bit stronger. A bit stronger.
[Narrator] With just three weeks
until Kenzey takes the stand,
her version of events is being collated
into a statement, that will form the basis
of her defense.
Details need to be checked
and double-checked,
to prepare her for cross-examination
by the prosecution.
Now, if you remember,
I spoke to you some time ago,
and took quite a detailed story
from you about when you started to notice
that she was unwell?
Did you at that, or round about then,
say anything like, should we call the hospital,
should we call the health service,
should we call an ambulance?
[Kenzey] No, no.
You didn't actually sort of say,
perhaps we ought to get somebody
to come along and see.
[Kenzey] No, I didn't.
[William] If you'd been left to yourself,
uninterfered that night,
what would you have done?
To be quite honest,
I've thought about this a lot
in the last 18 months or so.
What would I have done
if it was just me,
and had I had had them few seconds,
I think I would have called someone.
Whether that be my mum or the NHS.
And that's something I think about almost daily.
Had I been on my own, what would I have done?
And I think...
[William] I'm sorry to have to ask you
all this again.
(sobbing)
Well it think probably going to have
to stop now, anyway.
(sobbing)
[Woman] Do you have any tissues?
Sorry, it's just every time,
I feel like I've always gotta go over it,
and it just,
even when I'm not here,
even at home, I'm constantly going over,
and over, and over, and over, and over,
and it's just all...
I suppose, because I always feel like,
could I have done more, should I have done more,
did I do enough,
why didn't I listen to my instincts?
[William] You should not blame yourself.
'Cause you've got nothing
to blame yourself for, all right?
(soft sorrowful music)
[Narrator] It's social services who control
when Kenzey can see her children.
Today, she's visiting them.
Her last chance to do so
before the trial begins.
Kenzey's mum, Maz, will also be present.
Don't like to call it contact,
I think it's a really horrible word.
So I've got my meeting, my play date
that I get every so often,
to see the children.
Three to four times a year, for three hours.
Some arsehole judge in the family court
has said I should see them
three to four times a year,
because maybe, just maybe,
there might be a possibility
that Kenzey may have done or knew something,
which is complete fucking insanity.
(soft sorrowful music)
[Maz] Well you just feel helpless, don't you?
You wanna help your kids.
It's a bit like your kids
are being bullied at school,
you wanna go up there,
and defend them, and stick up for them,
and stop it, and you're helpless in this situation,
'cause you're up against so many powerful people,
that there's nothing you can do about it.
(soft sorrowful music)
[Kenzey] I've not been allowed
to be involved in her life as I should
and ought to be.
After 18 months, you know,
still trying to find answers and reasons,
and why, why has this happened?
I don't even feel like I am a mum.
(soft sorrowful music)
[Narrator] Three hours later,
Kenzey's alloted time with her children is over.
(soft sorrowful music)
You know, they're such innocent creatures,
if you like, you know,
and it's lovely to watch them learn,
and say things, and do things,
and it's nice to watch that,
especially when it's your own children.
But it's really tough,
because it's so limited, and so restricted.
And constantly being observed,
that's the negative side to it.
(suspenseful music)
If she gets found guilty, that'll be worse,
'cause she ain't done anything.
That means you're sending
an innocent person to prison,
they've been punished enough,
had their kids taken away,
not allowed to see their kids,
or only so many times a year or whatever.
And on top of that,
you've gotta wait for this trial,
you've been through all that, been on bail,
and go to prison.
All for something you never done.
Is that fair?
(suspenseful music)
(soft suspenseful music)
[Narrator] In two weeks' time,
Kenzey's trial will begin.
And she'll be taking the stand
to try and clear her name.
There's been times
where I've just sort of sat in the bath
or something, and I'm like,
kinda talking aloud to myself,
and I'm thinking of all the things
that they're gonna ask me,
and how I'm gonna answer it,
and I suppose you do kind of rehearse it.
But actually, you can't rehearse anything,
because you don't know what's gonna be asked,
or what's gonna be said.
And the only thing you can do is be open and honest.
(soft suspenseful music)
[Narrator] When Kenzey and Kyle were arrested,
their mobile phones were seized by the police.
The prosecution are using the text messages
sent between them
to illustrate the volatile relationship
which surrounded their daughter.
(suspenseful music)
(beeping)
(suspenseful music)
(beeping)
More than 7,000 messages
have been submitted as evidence
to Kenzey's barrister, Ronnie Manek.
[Ronnie] I've received some text messages today.
[Kenzey] Is this a text message
between myself and Kyle, or, Mum?
Yes, the prosecution are effectively using
these set of text messages,
and I won't go through them all.
But for example,
this is on the 1st of November at six o'clock.
I know you cannot stand me,
that's why you always need to be away from me,
and lie to me.
Once you return,
I'll go out until later on, stay out of your way.
Sorry you hate me so much.
And it goes on.
You can play on this, you little cunt.
There are other text messages here
which the prosecution are going to use.
But does that make me, you know,
the next Fred and Rose West,
because we've had
a little ding dong, you know? No, no, no, no.
There's no such thing as a perfect couple.
And I've never once said,
you know, oh, you know, it's lovely,
it's hunky-dory, because actually,
it wasn't always hunky-dory,
but that does not mean,
and that does not make me someone who is abusive
to children, because I'm not,
nor would I be the sort of person
that's gonna allow for that to happen.
[Ronnie] Well, they're trying to make out
that you're this mother who allowed-
It makes me sicks, it makes me-
[Ronnie] Well, I agree-
It makes me sick.
I don't even have words to explain it, Ronnie.
I really don't.
And I'm sorry, I don't mean to get annoyed,
it just upsets me.
You will have your opportunity
in the witness box to actually tell the jury
how sick you are
about the accusations against you.
We can't stop the prosecution from prosecuting.
They are there to do their job,
we are here to do our job for you,
and rest assured, you're in safe hands.
[Kenzey] How many other families
are gonna have to go through this shit?
Well- Sorry, for being so-
No, say it how you feel.
Don't hold back.
And please, don't hold back
in the witness box, of course,
we will go through evidence with you.
Whether you choose to go over evidence
or not, we can deal with later, all right?
But again, we have to,
Kenzey, we have to make sure
that we focus on our case, okay?
He has his legal team. Just makes me sick.
He has a Queen's Counsel.
Okay, he has a legal team, right?
We are not defending him.
(suspenseful music)
(beeping)
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] The most damning messages
for Kenzey's defense were sent
just a few weeks before the couple were arrested.
After Kyle had been cautioned by police
for hitting Kenzey
while she was holding their baby.
[Kenzey] I didn't want to press
any charges or anything.
It was more like a warning thing.
It was a warning thing, as in-
He got cautioned, he was cautioned.
Did he tell you that he accepted a caution?
No.
Do you know what I mean by a police caution?
Yeah.
That he admitted that he did slap you.
I didn't know he'd accepted a caution, no.
He accepted a police caution,
which is not a criminal conviction.
But I didn't sign anything, you know, to-
No, see, initially,
you made an allegation didn't you,
you called the police?
Yeah, I rang the police, yeah.
You then made,
which Kevin has
basically just shown you a statement.
That caution will remain on his record
for a number of years.
But it's not a conviction
It was a two way thing to be honest with you.
I said it was actually both of us were squabbling.
So I never sat down and said, oh, no.
[Ronnie] All couples argue, all right?
Well, I would think so.
You know, as I said,
I don't think there's such thing
as a perfect couple that doesn't have
a disagreement. No, they all argue.
Yeah, exactly. And I'm not saying
that to have an altercation
is right in any way, shape or form,
but, as I said, it doesn't make me,
or Kyle even, what they're trying to make out.
(soft suspenseful music)
No one understands what's going
through your mind,
no one understands
your thought process, you know?
And you just want someone to say,
do you know what, I believe you.
I believe you.
I hear what you're saying.
That is my hope,
that the jury will, once they hear
my side of the story, they will soon,
I hope, realize that's what this is all about.
Is getting these people to see it from your side.
As opposed to the prosecution.
(soft suspenseful music)
[Narrator] If she's to have a chance
of being found innocent,
Kenzey's legal team need her
to end her support for Kyle.
Especially as the prosecution
have submitted a message he posted on Facebook.
(suspenseful music)
Three months after he was arrested,
Kenzey's boyfriend, Kyle,
confessed on Facebook
to injuring their baby daughter.
Kyle later retracted it.
But the confession remains part
of the case against him.
With one week until trial,
Ronnie's worried that it will make
Kenzey's ongoing support for her boyfriend
even more damaging to her defense.
[Ronnie] Just say the truth is-
But we're never going to find out the truth,
I don't think. Why not?
[Kenzey] 'Cause I just cannot see
how we're gonna find out the truth.
Say if he gives evidence
in the witness box, right?
[Kenzey] It's different if he sa right, I've done something.
Well there you go.
Say if he gives evidence in the witness box.
And crumbles under cross examination
by these formidable silks from all sides, right?
And he decides to make a confession.
Would that satisfy you?
[Kenzey] If he made a confession-
[Ronnie] He's made two already, by the way.
Just to let you know.
I have to-
Facebook and another one, just to let you know,
unsolicited, without even being prompted.
But- So, go on.
If he made a confession,
and that's different.
But I would still be thinking,
why is there no bruising,
why is there no red mark,
why is there no bump- Well hang on
If somebody confesses-
[Kenzey] If someone confessed-
I mean, because he feels guilty, for example,
and he says, right, you know what
I'm gonna just own up,
because I don't want to put
Kenzey through this anymore.
And he decides,
are you still not going to believe it?
You're gonna get into his case.
We don't want you to trespass into his case,
because it just completely ruins
the perspective of your defense.
[kenzey[ But I will behind closed doors,
be doing my research.
Do what you want behind closed doors.
But in front of the jury,
you'll be asked questions
about your role, how they put their case.
You ought to have known he was violent,
there's the text messages,
tell us about the text messages,
in terms of all that.
No face pulling, all right, in the dock.
[Kenzey] I can't guarantee
I won't pull a face, because I've got
quite an expressive face.
Answer the question you're asked.
Don't go off into one.
Because the more information you volunteer,
the more ammunition you give the prosecution
to take you on a little path.
Stick to the question, okay?
They're slippery, aren't they?
Well, we're paid
to do that, we're lawyers, right?
Lawyers are there to extract.
We'll deal with that nearer the time, all right?
[Narrator] With the Facebook confession
now in the frame,
Kenzey's refusal to accept Kyle's involvement
could seriously undermine her defense.
But her legal team still have strong arguments
to put forward.
The prosecution has no firm evidence
to prove that Kenzey witnessed an assault.
And to counter the claim
that she should have known
Kyle was a threat to their child,
solicitor, William Bache,
has uncovered a social services report
made shortly before the injuries happened.
It concluded that Kyle wasn't a risk to the baby.
(soft suspenseful music)
For Ronnie, the case could still go either way.
I think we have a pretty good chance
of an acquittal.
I'm slightly worried that that chance
will be decreased percentage wise
if she gave evidence.
I'm very much worried
about how she will present herself
in the witness box.
She can portray herself
as protecting her partner,
which may be very, very harmful to her defense.
And this is where it can all go wrong,
and all the hard work that's done so far
could be unmade.
(suspenseful music)
There's gonna be a lot of things
that are thrown at me
that I'm not gonna like.
And it's a natural thing to wanna react
when someone's being horrible or nasty to you.
But I suppose the way
that I would ground myself
is thinking of both of the children.
So when I feel myself possibly wanting to react,
I've got to kind of think,
remember what this is about,
and who you're doing this for,
and hopefully that should kind of keep me level,
you know, balanced.
But I don't say it's gonna be easy,
because my natural instinct
is I wanna stand up for myself,
and say, you're wrong.
My view is that she shouldn't give evidence.
She may think she's doing herself a favor,
and telling her story,
but in fact, she's very much likely to fall
in the hands of the prosecution,
in the way that they want her to be,
so they can then scrutinize her evidence,
and tear it apart.
(suspenseful music)
(soft piano music)
[Narrator] Kenzey's trial begins today,
and is expected to last four weeks.
I'm actually not feeling too bad.
I don't know, it's really weird,
it's like it just doesn't actually feel very real.
I mean, it's daunting.
It's obviously gonna be quite daunting,
but I was there, and I know what happened,
and I know what didn't happen.
When you know, you're innocent,
and you know you've not done anything.
I think that gives you even more determination
and stuff to be strong minded,
and to wanna get through it,
and I think in my mind, I'm just like,
the jury will hopefully see through all this.
My innocence, if you like,
my innocence should come through.
Anyone could wake up and their baby's sleepy,
or, kids have cot deaths
and that all the time, or die in their sleep,
babies, and it's never explained.
Still not really explained,
it's still a bit of a mystery.
So, I'll just have to support Kenzey
the best I can, whatever the outcome.
(suspenseful music)
Listening to the opening speech
from a prosecutor isn't pleasant,
because it sounds awful,
because that's the job of the prosecution team,
is to present the case
which is the route to conviction.
It's a game of two halves.
And the prosecution have
to then finish their half,
and the defense will get their opportunity,
but some clients don't understand that,
and so they fear
that what the jury are listening to,
or what they're hearing,
is all very much one sided,
but they don't realize
that actually their term will come in due course.
(suspenseful music)
The first day, I did stand up,
and I shouted out,
because something they said
I knew it was just a complete lie.
And then I got told off.
If you do that again,
you'll be sent down to the cells.
(suspenseful music)
Sometimes I don't even feel like a human being.
The way I'm being judged,
and the way I'm being spoken about,
I don't even feel like I exist on this earth.
There's so much at stake here.
You know, it's not just, oh, well,
we think maybe they've done something,
or we're not sure, or we don't think so.
You've got to be 100%.
Now if all these people think
that I, or Kyle,
or both of us has done something,
they really think that,
you're looking at a couple of monsters.
You know, you are looking at someone
that you could compare to Ian Huntley,
or Myra Hindley, or Fred and Rose West.
That's how serious this is, in my eyes.
And if they think that,
then they think we're monsters.
And then I'm thinking,
is that what people think of me?
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] The prosecution have finished
putting their case against Kenzey.
(suspenseful music)
It's gone as well as it can.
Better than I thought.
But now we have the defense case.
So this is where it's the crucial
and pivotal part of the case, where,
in my view, the whole case
rests upon their evidence.
The difficult part starts now,
because she is very much likely to go,
if I can put it in a skiing term, off piste.
And that's quite dangerous,
because we don't know what answers
she'll give to a jury.
She's very animated, and she's very vocal.
So she will no doubt, and happily do so,
tell the prosecution how she feels
about the case, and tell the jury.
(suspenseful music)
[Narrator] As she contemplates giving evidence
and being cross-examined by the prosecution,
Kenzey's visiting a park
which holds her fondest memories
of family life with her daughter and Kyle.
I haven't been here since this has all happened.
'Cause I always thought to myself,
if I'm gonna come back here,
I'm gonna come back with everyone, to be honest.
Somewhere I used to come quite a lot with Kyle.
When she was born,
we brought her along one evening
to watch the sun go down from up on the hill.
I suppose I wonder,
I tend to more wonder
if things weren't this way,
what would we be doing now?
You know, my hopes of the sorts of things
we would have done together,
as a family.
Yeah.
You just can't
really turn back the time,
and it's difficult as well,
because obviously, I always think,
like had I known,
and of course I would go back
in time, and I'd do things so differently.
(soft piano music)
[Narrator] Kenzey's defense begins today,
but after a last minute change of heart,
she'll no longer face
cross-examination by the prosecution.
Following Ronnie's concerns
that she'll be attacked for refusing
to accept Kyle's guilt,
despite his confession,
she's decided not to take the stand.
Her legal team are now relying
on the detailed statement
that she provided to her lawyers,
and two key arguments.
There's no firm evidence to show
she witnessed an assault,
and that even if she knew of Kyle's aggression,
she had no reason to think
he would inflict grievous harm on their daughter,
especially as social services
didn't think Kyle posed a significant risk.
(train rattling)
After closing speeches
from the prosecution and the defense,
the jury was sent out to reach a verdict.
(suspenseful music)
Whatever the jury is saying, I know myself.
I know I have not caused or allowed any harm
to my children.
So that is what I've got to keep telling myself,
you did not do this,
you did not allow this,
you did not cause this.
That is obviously something I'm gonna have
to keep repeating myself.
You're doing this for your children,
you know you love them very much,
you would go to the end of the earth
and back for them, and you're here,
and you're doing this for them.
(suspenseful music)
When you run a case on behalf of the defense,
you always manage to convince yourself
there's a bit of doubt.
You always think,
when you speak to 12 people,
and there's 12 people watching the case unfold,
there are 12 different minds
from different walks of life,
and there may well be some people
that actually have a doubt about the evidence.
So you always come out of there
feeling a bit of hope.
(suspenseful music)
(train rattling)
Kyle professed his innocence,
saying, it wasn't me, it wasn't me.
And I think she believed her boyfriend,
and therefore didn't want to be seen
to attack his character.
And her misguided loyalty to him
is what caused her to be convicted.
(suspenseful music)