Top doctor casts doubt on conviction of waiter Mohammad Ullah for killing baby stepson (original) (raw)

A TOP doctor who cracked two major rough justice cases has cast doubt on the guilt of a waiter convicted of murdering his baby Scots stepson.

In a report seen by Daily Record investigators, respected pathologist Dr Glyn Walters says there is "no evidence" that Mohammad Ullah killed nine-month-old Kyle Mutch.

Dr Walters suspects the tot was fatally injured in a tragic accident, perhaps while another child was playing with him.

And he concludes: "The 'evidence' against the father seems to me to be extremely weak."

Dr Walters helped free solicitor Sally Clark, who was wrongly jailed for life in 1999 for murdering her two baby sons.

His evidence was also vital in clearing Ian and Angela Gay, who were falsely accused of fatally poisoning their adopted son with salt in 2002.

The expert has now studied Ullah's case after the waiter's defence team asked him to get involved.

And the lawyers insist Dr Walters's findings are strong enough to win the waiter a new appeal - and freedom.

Little Kyle died in Turriff, Aberdeenshire, in January 2004 after Ullah picked him up from the home of his grandmother, 60-year-old Marlane Low.

Kyle had injuries to his abdomen consistent with a punch or kick, and prosecutors claimed Ullah killed the baby with one blow in a fit of temper.

He was jailed for life in September 2004, and the judge ordered him to serve at least 13 years.

At the High Court in Edinburgh, Lord Carloway told the waiter: "You have been found guilty of the murder of a defenceless infant, and I must proceed on the basis of the verdict of the jury."

But Dr Walters insists in his report: "There is no evidence that he did anything that day that would have harmed the baby."

And he says expert evidence given at Ullah's trial may have been the result of nothing more than "conjecture".

Dr Walters believes the evidence points to Kyle being injured accidentally, possibly during play with another youngster.

He writes: "This seems to me to be by far the most probable explanation."

Dr Walters's findings also point to the theory that Kyle was injured before Ullah picked him up after his work at 10.30pm.

Experts at Ullah's trial agreed that Kyle would have bled rapidly after he was injured, and died within five or six hours.

But Dr Walters notes that none of the baby's major arteries were damaged and says his bleeding may have been slow and intermittent.

He says the bleeding may have slowed or even stopped, only to start again as a result of jolting as Ullah walked home with Kyle.

And he adds that while the trial experts agreed that Kyle would have died within six hours, other babies with similar injuries had survived far longer.

Ullah says he tried to feed Kyle a couple of times on the night of the tragedy but the baby vomited and was so cold that he took him to bed with him.

The waiter ran to fetch neighbours after Kyle became seriously ill, and they found him lying dead on the bed.

Dr Walters believes Kyle's vomiting to be consistent with an injury received earlier. And he says Ullah's actions seem to have been those of a caring father.

Ullah's lawyer, Aamer Anwar, plans to present the Walters report to the appeal court as new evidence. He said: "I believe Mr Ullah has been the victim of a miscarriage of justice and we believe the report is extremely significant."

One of the main witnesses against Ullah at his trial, Kyle's heartbroken mum Karen, is now "convinced the wrong person is in jail".

Karen wept at Ullah's trial as she told how the waiter threatened to find a way to hurt her if she went out with pals the day before Kyle's death.

But she later withdrew her claims and said she only turned on Ullah because she feared she might lose her two other kids.

She confessed: "The evidence I gave against him has been eating away at me ever since."

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