Couple swap identity of dead baby daughter with twin sister to hide catalogue of injuries

A couple who hid horrendous injuries they caused to their baby daughter by switching her with her identical twin have been found guilty of child cruelty.

Mohammed and Nafisa Karolia concealed the abuse from health visitors by making a stream of excuses for only one child being at home at any time.

The baby – known as Twin M – suffered broken ribs, legs, arms, brain damage, and injuries to the head, ears and nose during her seven months of life.

The injuries were inflicted on at least 3 separate occasions some were at least six weeks old.

Her parents never sought medical attention and the baby died of an unrelated illness. Yesterday the couple were warned they faced a lengthy jail sentence.

For some unexplained reason, Preston Crown Court heard, taxi driver Mohammed, 29, and his 22-year-old wife rejected and abused one twin while caring for the other.

The jury heard that when health visitors called at their home, the couple made deliberate attempts to conceal the injured twin.

 They would claim Twin M was visiting her grandparents or was with relatives.

On another occasion, when both twins had an appointment at a doctor’s surgery, Mrs Karolia claimed the second twin was absent due to teething trouble.

And two weeks before Twin M’s death, Naima Khan, a nurse, arrived for a pre-arranged visit but neither twin was present.

Later that afternoon Mrs Karolia’s social worker, Geraldine Greenwood, was duped when she called at the home in Blackburn to be told that the other twin, referred to as Twin A, was Twin M. 

Joe Boyd, prosecuting, said the Karolias made a concerted effort to hide the ill-treatment Twin M was suffering. He said the injuries could be caused only by the parents because the baby was away from their care for just a few hours during her entire life.

Twin M was rushed to hospital after she stopped breathing but at the hospital the Karolias claimed the dead girl was Twin A.

Twin M died from broncho-pneumonia in June 2009 and not as a result of the injuries she sustained.

The identity swap began to unravel when a social worker noticed discrepancies in the head, weight and height measurements taken from Twin M and her sister.

Mr Boyd said: ‘Growth charts for both twins make it clear that the parents have at some stage swapped the babies.

‘They have very probably done so to seek to conceal the mounting injuries being suffered by the child who died – always the bigger twin but, for some reason, rejected and abused by them.’

The jury was instructed they did not necessarily have to believe the baby-swapping theory to reach a guilty verdict. After the case, Detective Inspector Pete Broome of Lancashire police described the investigation as one of the most extreme he had come across.

‘I can only describe this as a bestial crime,’ he said.

‘A seven-month-old child, a babe in arms, completely and utterly incapable of defending herself has been subjected to the most horrendous violence.

‘The only two people who know if these babies were swapped over are the parents.

 Therein lies some of the worst aspects of this case, because the surviving twin may never know who she really was at birth.

‘They have never shown a flicker of remorse. The emotions they showed were for themselves and the predicament they find themselves in.’

Sentencing was adjourned until October.