A doctor appearing at the manslaughter trial of Sharina Anne Tuzo yesterday described the accused's godson as "the most obviously battered and abused child I have ever seen in my career''.

Dr. Carol Ferris rejected an explanation given by Tuzo that five-month-old Saed Rami Nadir Young may have sustained fatal head injuries as the result of falling off a bed.

She added that given the injuries Saed sustained, the baby could not have behaved in the way Tuzo claimed on August 26 1997.

Saed was living with Tuzo and her boyfriend Jermaine Pearman at their house in Bob's Valley Lane, Sandys, for ten days. When his mother Roshea Lovette Eugenie Young, 23, collected him on August 26, she discovered he was in a coma and rushed him to the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, where he died three days later.

Paediatrician Dr. Janet Grant-Tyrrell also discounted the possibility that the child died of a single blow to the head or that Tuzo would have been unable to notice Saed was ill.

Tuzo, 21, denies the manslaughter of Saed. The Crown has accepted that it was her boyfriend, Jermaine Pearman, who actually abused the child, slapping and punching him. Pearman, 27, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and will be sentenced on November 1.

But the Crown alleges Tuzo is guilty of manslaughter because through alleged gross negligence she failed in her duty to protect Saed when he was in her care and did not seek medical attention for his injuries.

In an interview with Police, Tuzo claimed Saed fell off a bed one a half feet from the floor around 10 a.m. on August 26. She claimed that at about 2pm.

Saed opened his eyes and bit the nipple of his bottle.

Tuzo alleged that Saed's excrement changed colour in the ten days he was with her and Pearman but that his urine never changed.

Dr. Ferris, who has 15 years' experience in emergency medicine, treated Saed when he was brought to King Edward VII Hospital on August 26 in a coma suffering from a fractured skull, bruising and dehydration.

Dr. Ferris was asked by Senior Crown Counsel Brian Calhoun if Saed's injuries could have been sustained through a fall of one and a half feet to a carpeted floor. She said no.

She said the injuries were more likely to be caused by multiple blows or one extremely severe blow. The swelling on the child's head would have become obvious in about four hours, at around 2 p.m., if the blow was dealt at 10 a.m. Mr. Calhoun asked if the child would be able to open his eyes at 2 p.m.

if he suffered the blow at 10 a.m.

She said: "The severity of the head injury, some four hours after it occurred, would be so great that this baby would not be able to open his eyes spontaneously.

Baby Saed "Likewise, a baby would not bite down on the nipple of his bottle at that time. This baby would be deeply unconscious at this stage.'' She said Saed was "very obviously'' dehydrated and this would be "obvious to anybody''.

Dr. Ferris said the injuries on the left hand side of the face, the coma, swelling on the scalp and fractures on the collar bone were "very obvious indications that this child had been abused and injured''.

She added: "This child was the most obviously battered and abused child I have ever seen in my career.'' Under cross-examination from Tuzo's lawyer Philip Perinchief, she agreed that the quantity, if not quality, of the child's urine may have changed and that diarrhoea could cause dehydration.

Mr. Perinchief asked if an adult holding the child fell on top of it on a tiled surface whether that could cause the fractured skull and fracture to the collar bone. Dr. Ferris said it was "not beyond the realms of possibility but not likely''.

Asked by Mr. Perinchief if the child had any chance of survival if it was suffering from brain damage, she said: "There is always a chance if immediately after the injury they are taken for medical care.'' Under re-examination, she agreed with Mr. Calhoun that the chances of Saed surviving would be greater if immediate medical attention had been sought.

Paediatrician Dr. Grant-Tyrrell told the court she saw Saed when he was born and was paged to go to the hospital on the night of August 26.

She said: "I don't believe (the injuries) are from falling off a one and a half foot bed. I just don't see that as an accident.

"I feel that it must have occurred within 24 hours of his arrival in emergency. I also feel that that day, he was getting worse and he must have shown signs of being ill before he came to emergency. It was obvious to anyone that he needed medical attention.

"When I first saw him it was quite obvious that this was some kind of abuse.

My first reaction was that he wasn't going to make it because the Police were called.'' She said the amount of time Saed spent sleeping, according to Tuzo's statement, seemed "excessive'' for a child that age. She agreed there was a "small chance'' of Saed surviving if he was given quick medical attention.

The trial before Chief Justice Austin Ward continues on Tuesday.