Articles labeled: denise reynolds

A 12-year-old girl died of blood poisoning after her foster caregivers allegedly left her in the backyard with a broken leg as punishment.

Denise Reynolds and Toni Melville, who are both Deborah’s aunts and who were caring for her, faced the Northern Territory Supreme Court yesterday charged with manslaughter.

They have pleaded not guilty.

At the opening day of their trial yesterday, a jury was told that on July 22 last year, Deborah came home from a school sports day complaining of a sore leg.

Ms Reynolds, who was the registered foster carer for Deborah, was a “stubborn” woman who insisted the child had sustained a sports injury which would improve with exercise, the court heard yesterday. In fact, the girl’s left thigh was fractured and an infection was developing within the broken bone.