Baby girl with head injury dies in Siparia

This story has been adjusted to include additional details. See updated post here.

Police are investigating the death of a baby girl from Penal on the night of March 5.

Amy Rianna Doodnath died at the Siparia district health facility, where relatives took her for treatment for what was described as a small injury to her forehead.

She would have turned three months old on March 15.

An autopsy is set for March 8 at the Forensic Science Centre in St James. So far, police investigators have classified the death as unnatural.

Amy lived with her parents, Roshanie Ramtahal, 25, and Brandon Doodnath, 31, her three-year-old brother and other relatives at Bunsee Trace, off Penal Rock Road.

Doodnath told Newsday on March 6 at the family’s home: “I do not know what caused my daughter to bleed on her forehead. I want to know what caused her to die. Everyone wants to know.

"We went to San Fernando Hospital this morning, thinking the autopsy was going to be done at the mortuary there.”

Doodnath said he went to the San Fernando General Hospital (SFGH) on the morning of March 5 to register the baby.

The father of two added he returned home around 12.30 pm and went outside to do some work while the child was asleep in bed.

The baby's mother, Ramtahal, was cutting chalta (fruit) outside.

Doodnath said she went to check on the child and saw blood and what appeared to be a minor injury on Amy’s head at around 5 pm.

They called Doodnath’s mother, Radha Doodnath, a patient care assistant at the SFGH, who suggested using a plaster on the injury.

When she returned home, the grandmother accompanied her daughter-in-law and the baby to the health facility, after 7 pm.

However, the child was declared dead at 8.28 pm.

On March 6, Ramtahal was too distraught to speak and wept as she stood beside Doodnath and his mother.

Radha said the family never expected the child to die.

“We thought we were carrying her for a checkup, to come back home with her. She was sleeping and crying and was in and out of it. I did not go with the intention that it was something so severe.” Radha said.

The police said the baby had a six-by-six-centimetre haematoma bump (blood gathered under the skin) on the left side of the back of her head and a five-by-five-centimetre one on the right side.

She was also said to have "raccoon eyes."

Commenting on this, her grandmother said: “The doctor said there was bleeding in the head and blood went to the back of the eyes. The doctor said it was caused by trauma. "Amy was not looking like that earlier in the day.”

The police said Amy was unresponsive when she was brought to the health facility.

Apart from Penal police, officers from the Child Protection Unit at the South Oropouche police station and the Homicide Bureau of Investigations (Region III) were alerted.

Cpl Deo and WPCs Young and Edwards of the Homicide Bureau visited the house and gathered evidence.

ASP Corrie, acting Insp John, WPC Ashby, PCs Moreno, Sookram and Ramsingh and other police from the South Western Division also visited.

PC Sookram of the Penal police station is leading investigations.