A WOMAN accused of murder denied Googling ‘how to get rid of bruises’ in an attempt to “cover her tracks after assaulting Star Hobson”, court heard today.

Savannah Brockhill, 28, of Hawthorn Close, Keighley, continued to be cross-examined by her co-accused Frankie Smith’s barrister Zafar Ali QC this morning [Wednesday] in the trial over the alleged murder of 16-month-old Star.

She and Smith, 20, of Wesley Place, Keighley, both deny murdering and causing or allowing the toddler’s death on September 22, 2020.

She also admitted saying she was "a psycho" and threatening to "put someone in a chair for the rest of their life" if they messaged Frankie Smith.

Mr Ali pointed to Google searches made by Brockhill while Star was in her care at work.

First, on July 20, 2020, Brockhill searched ‘what takes bruising and swelling down’, and ‘what takes bruising away quickly’, around 40 minutes after picking Star up from Smith’s flat.

She said she had noticed bruises on Star when she picked her up; Mr Ali asked why she had waited so long to make searches, she said the marks had become more prominent.

Mr Ali said: “[Pathologist] Dr Johnson said this bruise was caused by punches or hard slaps.

“You wanted to take away proof of your handiwork as fast as possible.

“You then searched ‘does toothpaste take away bruising’, you were desperate to take away evidence of the bruising.”

Brockhill said that these suggestions “were not true”.

Mr Ali moved to a conversation later that night with Smith, when Smith was drunk, which Brockhill recorded without telling Smith she was.

“When she spoke about Star falling on a bed, she hadn’t seen the injuries,” Mr Ali said.

“That’s not true,” replied Brockhill.

“You made that recording to protect yourself,” he asked.

Brockhill said: “Correct.”

Mr Ali said: “Tricking Smith into thinking the injuries you caused to Star in the car were her fault.”

Brockhill said: “No not tricking. Frankie was being very honest in the call.”

The next morning, when Brockhill took Star home, they saw Star fall again and hit her head on the bed.

Mr Ali asked: “Assuming this happened, it didn’t cause bruises like that did it? It wouldn’t have been a reasonable explanation, which you knew full well.”

Brockhill replied: “No, I don’t believe so.”

Mr Ali put to her: “Between when you picked Star up and searching for removing bruises, you assaulted Star and caused those bruises, punching and slapping her in a car seat and desperately trying to cover your tracks and remove evidence of what you’d done.

“This was the first time you’d taken Star to work without Smith, and the first time you’d made Google searches like this.

“That’s no coincidence is it. Is this the first time you punched Star?”

Brockhill replied: “No, absolutely not. I never punched Star.”

Mr Ali also pointed to Google searches on July 24 for ‘what happens when you get punched in the abdomen’ and asked why she searched for that.

He reminded Brockhill “the post-mortem found evidence of previous bleeding in the abdomen, probably caused by one or more physical assaults severe enough to cause internal bleeding”.

Brockhill said it was because she’s previously had broken ribs and sternum and after a boxing sparring session they “didn’t feel right”.

Mr Ali also put to Brockhill that she was “controlling” Smith, which she denied.

He played a Snapchat video from Smith’s account of Brockhill, where she said: “Guys and girls need to remember the facts, Frankie is with me she’s getting a lot of messages and friend requests she is not going to accept.

“Especially tramps like you, and if you want to keep your kneecaps I’d suggest you stop sending them.”

The caption on the clip read: “I am a psycho when it comes to my girlfriend and wouldn’t mind putting anyone in a chair for the rest of their life if they even looked at her wrongly. Keep safe don’t message my girlfriend.”

Mr Ali said: “That’s you threatening to paralyse people, put them in a wheelchair, saying you are a psycho.”

Brockhill replied: “That’s correct.”

The trial continues.