daughter during a murder case in Supreme Court.

American Ms Darlene White wept repeatedly as she told the court of the last days of the life of her 10-month-old daughter, Cannice.

Cannice's father, Daniel Cann is accused of murdering her in a case of alleged Shaken Baby Syndrome. He is also accused of grievous bodily harm allegedly burning his child with a clothing iron.

Cann, of South Road, Paget, has denied both charges, claiming the girl was involved in a number of accidents which could have led to her death.

In May 1991, the baby was taken to the intensive care unit of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital by Cann. Doctors found she had no pulse, was not breathing and had internal head injuries.

Apart from the severe head injuries, Cannice was found to have burns to the backs of her hands and below her left nipple. She also had a fractured collarbone and spiral fractures of her lower legs.

Her mother wept, yesterday, when she told how doctors gave Cannice no chance to survive and finally turned off the respirator machine because they found the baby was brain-dead.

Earlier White described how she had arrived in Bermuda to visit her brother at the United States Air Station. She met Cann at a club and they became intimate.

She said: "I returned to the United States and I discovered I was pregnant. I did not have any way of getting in touch with Daniel but I did not want to terminate the pregnancy.'' White gave birth to Cannice in July 1990, and decided to go to Indiana, closer to her family.

She said: "I called her Cannice by taking Daniel's last name and part of my middle name. There had been no contact with him at this point.'' In early 1991, she heard from Cann. She said: "He was elated that I had our child. He was very happy and anxious for us to visit.'' Soon after, White and the baby visited Bermuda where they had a pleasant trip staying with Cann's daughter Dannise. Two months later, in May, 1991, they returned to Bermuda for a second visit.

White said Cann wanted to spend some time alone with Cannice and she allowed him to take her shopping on May 29. White claimed Cannice was fine and had no bruises, burns or broken bones on that day, or at any time previously during her 10-month life.

White said: "He brought her back and I was so happy to see her. I had missed her.

"She had burn marks on both her hands and her chest. I also noticed a bruise on her head.'' Cann explained the injuries before the mother had time to question him. He said the burns had been caused when Cannice pulled an iron onto her and she had also fallen off the couch, probably explaining the bruise.

White said: "I remembered thinking how odd it was but Cannice seemed to be fine.'' The following day Cann turned up to pick up his daughter again. White said: "They were going to the beach. I remember wanting to go and told him it would take just a few minutes for me to get ready. He did not want to wait. It was the last time I really saw Cannice alive.'' At that time White said her daughter was whining a little but behaving normally.

White went to visit her brother at the US base where she received a call that Cannice was in the intensive care unit at the hospital. She said: "I wanted to see my baby but I could not because they were working on her.

"Daniel was there. He said something about her falling down the stairs. He said he was going up the stairs and heard a noise behind him. He said she must have been trying to follow him.

"The doctor came into the area where I was sitting. I remember I asked him if she was going to die. He said yes.'' White stayed at the hospital with her daughter, but she only saw Cann once when they both prayed for Cannice at the hospital chapel. The next time she saw him was at the Police Station after he had been arrested on suspicion of offences relating to child abuse. She said: "I remember asking him what had happened. Again he said she had fallen down the stairs.'' She returned to the hospital where she was told that her daughter's body was not responding to treatment and the respirator was being turned off. She said: "After the machine was turned off they took off the wires and we said our goodbyes to Cannice.'' The next time White saw Cann was on a beach at a "grieving''. She said he "seemed to be grieving''.

Leading the prosecution is Crown Counsel Mr. Stephen Harrison assisted by Mr.

Mark Pettingill, of Smith, Barnard and Diel, who was Crown Counsel during the inquest in 1992.

Mr. Pettingill asked White how her daughter was walking at 10-months-old, she said: "She would take a few steps and `plop' down onto her diaper in a sitting position. I would assume that she would crawl up stairs, although I had never seen her do it.'' She told the court she had never beaten or shaken her daughter.

When Mr. Pettingill showed her a picture of her daughter, White broke down in tears and said: "That's my baby. Cannice Joann White.'' Earlier in the day, defence lawyer Mr. Delroy Duncan had cross-examined paediatrician Dr. Peter Perinchief on the injuries the baby had received.

Dr. Perinchief had admitted that the severe bleeding in the child's head could have happened and then stopped being re-opened by a lesser impact. He said it was possible the first bleeding had happened some days before the child was admitted to hospital. He said the damage could not be dated.

But he said that internal head injuries of such severity were normally found in road accidents and shaking incidents and not from falling off a couch or down small flight of stairs. He then admitted that it was possible that the burns could have been caused by an iron falling and that spiral fractures in Cannice's legs could have been caused accidentally, but it would have been unusual.

Consultant Physician Dr. John Patton said he had examined Cannice on June 3, 1991, at 6 p.m., four days after she was admitted to hospital. He determined she was brain dead.

The case continues Monday. Presiding is Puisne Judge the Wor.

Mrs. Justice Wade. It is expected to last two weeks.