A CWMBRAN BABY whose death is at the centre of a murder trial had rib injuries similar to those seen on road accident victims, a court heard today.

Amelia Rose Jones died aged 41 days old on November 12, 2012 after suffering a "catastrophic brain injury".

Her grandfather Mark Jones, aged 45, no no fixed abode, is on trial for her murder. He denies the charge.

Medical experts told Newport Crown Court today that Amelia, of Waun Hywel Road in Pontnewydd, had a broken skull, broken legs and broken ribs, which she appeared to have suffered at different times.

Professor Anthony Freemont, an expert in bones and factures, said he believed her fatal head injury occurred less than 48 hours before she died but other injuries to her ribs, legs and skull could have happened four to six days before she died.

Other fractures on her ribs could have been two to four weeks old, he said.

Amelia showed no predisposition to fractures, such as rickets or osteoporosis, he added, telling the court her rib fractures were “the sort of compression injuries you got from a car accident. We are not talking about a squeeze you might give your grandchild. We are talking about a much greater amount of force.”

When questioned on this, he said he was talking about an accident which might occur between 20mph and 30mph.

Dr Patrick Cartlidge, a consultant paediatrician, gave evidence earlier in the day. He said he thought bleeding to Amelia’s eyes and the surface of her brain was likely to have been caused by shaking, in addition to the skull fracture probably caused by impact with a hard surface.

“The intracranial injuries and the eye injuries would be very unusual from an impact alone,” he said. “They are very suggestive of a child being shaken as well.”

Bleeding to different parts of the brain surface indicated Amelia “has not only been shaken back and forth by probably to a certain extent side to side as well,” he said.

He said leg microfractures were likely to have been caused by a “yanking” effect on the knee joint, and were unlikely to be accidental.

Amelia’s skull fracture was probably caused by “an impact with an unyielding surface, e.g. a floor with no significant bounce, a wall or the corner of a table. Anything really which has nothing to cushion the impact.”

He said in his opinion Amelia’s rib injuries were too old to be explained by resuscitation on the night she stopped breathing.

She may well have been injured for some time, he said, but because babies often cry anyway it could have been difficult to identify any particular reason.

The jury will hear expert medical evidence for the rest of this week.

Proceeding.