THE cross-examination of Savannah Brockhill continued in the trial into the death of Star Hobson today.

Brockhill, 28, of Hawthorn Close, Keighley, was asked directly if she had fatally injured 16-month-old Star on September 22, 2020, in a “moment of anger”.

She was also asked why it took more than 11 minutes to call an ambulance after finding Star injured, and told to explain why she lied to police when interviewed.

Brockhill and co-accused Frankie Smith, 20, of Wesley Place, Keighley - Star’s mother - both deny murder and causing or allowing Star’s death.

Questioning Brockhill today [Thursday], Zafar Ali QC, for Smith, read out a transcript of the 999 call Brockhill made, in which she said “obviously I’ve shouted her mum in”.

Mr Ali asked if that meant she was in the room before Smith, to which Brockhill said: “She was stood in the doorway.”

Mr Ali asked: “You told the doctor at the hospital after Star died you were first into the living room as you were in the kitchen.”

Brockhill answered: “I told her I was the first to pick her up.”

Mr Ali added: “DC Neesham said you were in the kitchen and got into the living room first.”

Brockhill said: “No we were in the living room at the same time.”

“So he is wrong then,” asked Mr Ali, to which Brockhill replied, “yes”.

Mr Ali also put to her that paramedics and a nurse all gave evidence she had pointed to her abdomen and said that was where she had administered CPR, and asked if that was right.

Brockhill denied this, and said she demonstrated her hand position on the chest, and "my hand covered all of Star's little body".

Mr Ali said: “You wanted to dress it up like an accident, gesturing to your abdomen because she was attacked there and it was you who attacked her.”

“No, that is not correct,” Brockhill said.

“When you visited and Smith went to the toilet it was the first time you’d seen Star alone since Sept 14,” Mr Ali said.

“For whatever reason, in a moment of anger, you picked up where you left off, punching Star in the abdomen probably more than once. In hospital you sank to your knees because you murdered her.”

Brockhill said this was not true.

Taking over cross-examination for the prosecution was Alistair MacDonald QC.

He pointed to the incident, how Brockhill found Star on the floor, floppy and struggling to breathe, before going rigid.

“She must have been fatally injured by this point,” he said, “did you not realise you have a major emergency on your hands?”

Brockhill said “no”.

There was a Google search for “bringing a baby out of shock” and the 999 call was not made for another 11 minutes.

Mr MacDonald asked why it took so long to call 999 for a “critically ill child”.

Brockhill answered: “I was tending to Star. What do you want me to do, leave a child and ring 999?

“How do you expect me to give an account for 11 minutes? Written down it sounds a lot quicker than it was, you could read that out in 30 seconds.

“It seems a long time here but at the time it doesn’t seem like very long at all, the paramedics said that.”

He also examined police interviews, where Brockhill denied knowledge of The Sun pub incident where she punched Smith.

Asked why she denied knowledge of it, Brockhill said it was “irrelevant”, before saying she was “confused at the time” when shown the transcript of the interview.

Mr MacDonald asked: "The officer says, you punched Frankie in the face. You say, no I didn't.

"But you have told this jury you do remember striking her. So this was a lie."

Brockhill answered: "Yes I lied."

Other questions she admitted giving misleading answers to because they were “irrelevant to Star’s death” were police asking if she had any vehicles other her blue van, ie. the Dacia Duster, and about her work patterns.

The trial continues.