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 | | Tuesday, 18 September, 2001, 18:38 GMT 19:38 UK Lauren father breaks down in court  Lauren Wright's digestive system collapsed A man accused of neglecting and killing his six-year-old daughter was given permission to leave a courtroom on Tuesday after breaking down in tears. Mechanic Craig Wright buried his head in his hands and sobbed as his daughter Lauren Wright was portrayed on two video screens at Norwich Crown Court. The video of Lauren had been taken six months before her death. Mr Wright, 38, of Welney, Norfolk, was given permission to leave by Judge David Mellor and was led from the courtroom by one of his lawyers. Video interview The video shown to the court was taken in November 1999 as part of a police investigation into allegations that Lauren had been sexually abused by her natural mother. Lauren was shown dressed in a white sweatshirt, pink trousers and white training shoes, chatting to a police officer and social worker.
At one point, the blonde-haired little girl climbed off her chair to show the two women how to play a game she had learned in the school playground. After being told that her interview was being recorded, she spoke of "being on the telly" and left her chair to examine the microphones placed around the interview room. Mr Wright and Lauren's stepmother, Tracey Wright, 31, also of Welney, Norfolk, both deny wilful neglect and manslaughter. School bullying Lauren died at her home in Welney on May 6, 2000. Prosecutors allege she was punched so hard in the stomach that her digestive system collapsed. On Tuesday, jurors had heard details of the interviews Mr Wright and Tracey Wright gave to police after their arrests in May last year. Mr Wright denied being aware that Lauren was being assaulted and said he believed marks on her body were the results of bullying at school and other accidents. He told police that he trusted Tracey Wright and added: "If I had known, I would have taken Lauren away. "I would not have let her go through that again knowingly." Tracey Wright denied hitting or abusing Lauren. She suggested to police that the injury to Lauren's stomach might have been caused by another child jumping on her or by the family's Alsatian dog leaping on her the day before her death. The trial continues. | | See also:  Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top UK stories now:  Links to more UK stories are at the foot of the page. | |||||||||||||||||||
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