A woman charged with shaking a ten month old child nearly three years ago was left to manage her own defence in Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Jacquelyn Fubler, who worked at the Noah's Ark Day Care Centre in Southampton, was charged with causing grievous bodily harm to ten month old Stephen Ebbin, on July 6, 2001. The child was out in a coma after suffering "a severe head injury".

The case had been repeatedly adjourned with four trial dates set to allow Fubler, who did not qualify for legal aid, to fund her own defence and obtain an expert medical witness to challenge the Crown's witness.

But yesterday Magistrate Tyrone Chin ordered the case go ahead after telling the court that he wanted some form of closure for all involved. Mr. Chin said Fubler had had plenty of time to "get her house in order" despite protest from Defence Counsel Leo Mills. Mr. Mills suggested a trial date should be set within another six weeks to allow Fubler proper time to prepare for her defence and to enable the case to run in accordance with the proper administration of justice.

Mr. Mills said the Magistrate's decision to allow the case to proceed was highly unusual and he questioned how justice could be properly administered if the defendant was unprepared. "It cannot be done whereby she has to go into battle unarmed and unprotected," said Mr. Mills.

Senior Crown Counsel Lloyd Rayney questioned Police Constable Lynn Hollis about the events of July 6, 2001.

P.c. Hollis said she was called to King Edward VII Memorial Hospital at 1.45 p.m. where she saw a child, who she identified as Stephen Ebbin, lying on his back in an unconscious state with a number of bruises on various parts of his body. She told the court how Police took photographs of the baby's body and of the inside of the Noah's Ark Day Care Centre. A red child-sized chair which Stephen was sitting on during the time of the alleged incident was also photographed by the Police as evidence.

Inspector Mike Chlebek told the court how he went to Fubler's house on the day of the alleged incident and asked her questions about Stephen's injuries. "She (Fubler) said to me, I will help you any way I can," said Insp. Chlebek.

"When I was asking Fubler how he received these injuries she demonstrated to me that the baby had been sitting in a red chair and had fallen out of the chair on two occasions. On the first occasion he felt out the chair and landed on the floor."

Mr. Beck said Fubler had notified the mother about the fall, which she said occurred on July 3, several days before the alleged incident. "The second time he had fallen she had left the baby in the chair and when she came back it had fallen down so the two front legs of the chair were up and the baby had hit his head on the pillar behind him," he said.

Mr. Rayney asked Insp. Chlebek what position the child was sitting in and the explanation Fubler had given him.

"She told me the child went into seizures and as a result she called the ambulance," he said.

In the afternoon session of the court, Mr. Mills withdrew from the case, saying that he did not have the adequate resources to question the expert witness produced by the Crown. Mr. Chin responded: "I sit up here and I take my oath seriously to get on with the job. This is a July 01 case and I must press on. Mr. Mills, I understand the costs of private practice and the overheads involved but my concern is that justice must be seen to be done three years on."

Before leaving the courtroom, Mr. Mills, who represents the firm Trott & Duncan said: "This case is about people who are in serious financial difficulty and have been for many years. This is not an offence similar to a traffic violation."

With her head bent and a notebook in hand Fubler began to take notes, which she told the court was for her own records.

Dr.Alexander Baron, a paediatrician at KEMH, took the stand to give medical evidence telling the court that on the night of July 6, he was called by a physician at the hospital to come immediately to see Stephen, his patient, because he was in a coma and the doctor felt he had sustained a serious head injury. Dr. Baron told the court that Stephen did not react normally when a light was shone into his eyes, and that his upper and lower limbs were shaking uncontrollably. In the early hours of July 7, 2001 Stephen was airlifted to the Children's Hospital of Boston for further care. Dr. Baron told the court that in his opinion Stephen was suffering from an internal brain injury caused by what is commonly referred to as non-accidental trauma or "shaken baby syndrome". In order for a child to suffer from such injuries, Dr. Baron said he would have to be shaken back and forth at a high velocity.

"Because their neck at that age is still as weak as a baby's the result would be the bursting of blood vessels in the brain leading to the injuries Stephen had sustained."

After Dr. Baron finished giving evidence Fubler was asked if she wanted to cross examine the witness, to which she declined.

"I'm not a lawyer, I half understand all of this because I have two children of my own, but only a lawyer could cross examine a witness because he understands what he is doing," she said.

After mumbling to herself "this is a joke" Mr. Chin told Fubler to be careful about what she said under her breath, or she may find herself in contempt of court.

"Keep your comments to yourself Ms. Fubler."

A Royal Gazette photographer had observed defence lawyer Mark Pettingill trying to get into court to assist Fubler, but he was unable to come to her aid as the front door to Magistrate's Court closes at precisely 5pm.

The trial continues today at 9.30 a.m.