10/02/2017 BBC Newsline

A father has been found NOT guilty of murdering his baby daughter.

Caragh Walsh was three months old when she died two years ago.

Her father, Christopher O'Neill, from the Whiterock Road in west

Belfast, was charged with her murder.

Today a jury at Craigavon Crown Court sitting in Armagh

Throughout the four-week trial, Christopher O'Neill denied any

suggestion that he'd harmed Caragh, saying that

The 26-year-old from West Belfast was accused of killing his

three-month-old baby daughter by shaking her violently

whilst in a rage at her home in February 2014.

During the trial, he said that he had shaken her,

trying to revive her, he thought she was dying.

Baby Caragh died in hospital two days later.

In Craigavon Crown Court, the jury of ten men and one woman

found by majority verdict of at least ten to one he was not

In the gallery behind him, the baby's mother stood up

and shouted, you killed my baby, my baby is dead because of you.

She was led from the court room with her family.

Still in the dock, Mr O'Neill put his head in his hands.

When the judge said he was free to leave, his family applauded

and hugged him and said, we love you.

Mr O'Neill's solicitor said it had been a difficult

A coroner has criticised police for failing to find a young man

who died after going missing from a mental-health unit.

His body was found ten weeks later close to the unit

22-year-old James Fenton, from Bangor, had been identified

as "high-risk" after telling staff he wanted to kill himself.

The family of James Fenton at the coroner's court this afternoon

for what marked the end of long, difficult and at times

It's been a horrendously long road, not just for a few months, but

22-year-old James Fenton went missing from Ward 27

at the Mental Health Unit in early July 2010.

And police were called in to search the grounds

They failed to find the missing man, whose body was discovered

less than 40 metres from the Mental Health

The coroner was very critical of the police response when James

Fenton went missing from the mental health unit.

A police ombudsman report was also critical of how the case

was handled and 12 officers were subsequently disciplined.

The PSNI has since changed its policy and practices on missing

persons as a direct result of the Fenton case.

The coroner described the actions of the hospital staff at the time

But he had harder words for the PSNI.

Joe McCrisken said consideration should have been given

to a police dog search, which may have led to Mr Fenton

being found shortly after he'd absconded.

He described this was a major failing that could have prevented

the prolonged trauma suffered by the family.

Today, the PSNI issued a wholehearted apology to the Fenton

family for the police failings in this case.

They have changed how to search for a missing person but they cannot

make the excuse of not enough funding for

mental health, things have to change.

How many more people have to lose their lives?

The coroner found that, due to advanced decomposition,

the cause of James Fenton's death was unascertainable,

although it was his view that the young man died

shortly after he climbed over the gate and absconded from

the Ulster Hospital's Mental Health Unit.

Mervyn Jess, BBC Newsline, at Belfast Coroner's Court.

A care worker found guilty of abusing elderly residents

at a care home in west Belfast has been sentenced to four

41-year-old Lisa Cullen from Lagmore Drive in Dunmurry

was sentenced after pleading guilty to assaulting a whistleblower

from the home at a previous court appearance.

Relatives of those who were cared for by Ms Cullen were at the court

It was the hardest thing we have ever

done was to put our model there, and to find out

that she hit my mother, it's soul destroying.

She told my husband she had full Alzheimer's,

was like a baby, and was better to go out and run around traffic.

Plans by the Health Minister, Michelle O'Neill, to tackle hospital

waiting lists have been criticised by the DUP leader, Arlene Foster.

In a letter, Mrs Foster responded to Minister O'Neill's

?31 million plan to treat patients who have been

The DUP leader accused Sinn Fein of electioneering.

But Sinn Fein hit back, saying the DUP were trying to deflect

A County Antrim man says he's been left in shock,

after a slurry tank crashed through a wall into his front

Our north-east reporter, Sara Girvin, has the story.

CCTV shows the dramatic moment a slurry tank crashes

It missed the home itself, in Glenavy, by less than a metre.

The homeowner, who was in the property at the time,

said he's just glad no-one was hurt.

Well, obviously quite shocked, but relieved,

If somebody was standing here, you can see where parts of the

It could have been worse if myself, my children or

my family had been there, postman, anybody at all!

The Belfast Road was closed for a time while the car,

tractor and slurry tank involved in the crash were removed.

Oil also had to be cleaned up, but the road has reopened.

Rugby now, and Ulster hung on to secure a 24-18

win against Edinburgh at the Kingspan Stadium

The pre-match buzz about Marcel Keizer sea but Bradley rumbled over

for the opening try. Ulster quickly responded. Marshall burst through

from close range. Centre Darren Cave ran out the second wide out on the

left. The third try was made by the brilliance of Charles Piutau.

Bolster had the bonus point in the bag before half-time, Stockdale

putting the finishing touches to a slick move. But after the break

Edinburgh came back into it. This try set up a nervy finish. After a

series of stoppage in -- stoppages for injuries and a penalty the hosts

held on for a hard earned wind. Next up for Ulster, the visit of Glasgow

Warriors in eight days. They will be hoping it is a little less tense.

And now here with the late weather is Cecilia Daly.

It will take old this weekend so make sure you are wrapped up nice

and warm. Tonight it looks like it could be quite frosty in some

places, temperatures could drop as low as five below zero and parts of

the countryside. Not everywhere will see a thrust but many places. The

day of Saturday frosty. It will be largely dry bed feeling cold,

especially coastal areas with the breeze coming off the sea. Gradually

the frost lifts, there will be sunshine at times tomorrow morning,

also a cold wind of the North Sea, dragging in snow showers for eastern

parts of Scotland and England. Further west it is drier and some of

the best weather will be across the west coast of Ireland. If you are

travelling to Rome to see Ireland play, it will be milder,

temperatures in the low teens, live coverage on BBC Radio Ulster. 5

degrees the us if we are lucky, a few snow flurries to some places.

Sunday will be cloudier, cold in the breeze, a bit of sunshine and the

possibility of one or two winteriness flurries. Next week it

still looks largely dry and breezy but we should start a sepia pictures

come up. By the time we get to the middle of the week it will be

noticeably Marburg, with temperatures in double figures but

also some rain around. -- noticeably warmer.

Our next BBC Newsline is at 4.05 tomorrow afternoon.

In the meantime you can keep up to date with news online.