Tina McLeod denies inflicting fatal injuries

Tina McLeod, 40, told police how she found one-year-old Alexander Graham on her living room floor and picked him up.

"Then his arms, his little arms went stiff and went out to the side," she told them during a three hour interview in an Edinburgh police station.

Detective Constable Neil Drummond, 35, was asked to read extracts from a transcript of the tape recorded interview to the jury at Mrs McLeod's trial.

When he got to the passage about Alexander's arms stiffening the detective - who has 13 years police service - paused.

"Do you need a couple of minutes," asked advocate depute Gerry Hanretty QC, prosecuting, noticing that something was wrong.

I never hit him. I swear to God. I swear on my life I never shook him or anything Tina McLeod

The trial at the High Court in Edinburgh was halted for about ten minutes after DC Drummond hurriedly left the witness box and the courtroom.

When the detective returned he continued to read Mrs McLeod's account of what happened at her home at Craigleith Hill Avenue on 26 July 2001 and how she summoned help.

"His eyes rolled," she told the detectives, describing the toddler's condition.

"When he stiffened up I shouted to Sean to get the ambulance."

The trial heard how a doll was produced in the police station for Mrs McLeod to demonstrate how she handled the 12-month-old boy.

Fall claim

"At that point he sort of flopped into me like that," McLeod told the police.

"I was shoogling him, going 'Oh God this isnae happening.'"

She also said she showed her son the settee or armchair in the room and said she thought the baby had fallen.

Mrs McLeod said she had been out of the room at the time - returning a bowl of chocolate ice cream to the kitchen before her own little daughter made a mess.

The trial has heard a number of doctors say that a fall from a settee would not have caused the internal head injuries which killed Alexander.

Pathologist Jean Keeling, who carried out a post mortem, said the toddler had been "violently shaken."

The court has heard police evidence

The detective agreed with Mr Hanretty that Mrs McLeod had been "absolutely vehement" in her denials that she had shaken Alexander, hit the little boy or dropped him.

"I never hit him. I swear to God. I swear on my life I never shook him or anything," she said in the police station, then repeated: "I never shook him, I never shook him."

Mrs McLeod, of Craigleith Hill Avenue, Edinburgh, denies murdering Alexander Graham while looking after him there on 26 July 2001.

The charge alleges that, while responsible as his child minder, she repeatedly shook and twisted the one-year-old boy and struck his head against an unknown blunt object or surface.

Alexander died the following day when his parents agreed to his life support system being switched off.

The trial continues.