A seven-year-old girl was subjected to months of violent punishment by her 'strict' churchgoing aunt before a 'vicious and sustained' beating finally killed her, a court heard today. Shanay Walker's death was the culmination of 'repeated acts of cruelty' at the hands of Seventh-day Adventist Kay-Ann Morris that included having food shoved in her mouth and being struck on the hands with a hairbrush, a jury was told. The youngster, who had 50 separate bruises across her body at the time of her death, was found cold and rigid in her bed by paramedics called to the family home in Bestwood, Nottingham, last July. Shanay Walker, found cold and stiff in her bed in Nottingham last July. Her aunt is currently on trial for her murder. The prosecution claim Shanay was subject to repeated acts of cruelty at the hands of her aunt and grandmother, Juanila Smikle, until she was eventually killed by a 'vicious and sustained attack' last July . Morris told police officers Shanay, who she was the legal guardian for, had fallen down the stairs. But the 23-year-old, who was an aspiring police officer in her teens, was later arrested and charged with murder. Nottingham Crown Court heard how Shanay went to live with her aunt as a five-year-old in 2012 after her natural mother - Morris' sister-in-law - struggled to care for her. However, Richard Pratt QC said she soon became the victim of regular punishments by Morris, and her mother, Juanila Smikle - Shanay's grandmother. She was disciplined for tiny misdemeanours such as failing to eat quickly enough or 'fighting' while brushing her teeth. Jurors were told the schoolgirl faced a range of abuse including being placed in the bath and having water thrown over her, being forced to stand on a landing for 20 minutes, and having the palms of her outstretched hands 'whacked' with a hairbrush. Mr Pratt said that on one occasion, neighbours saw Morris refuse to let a desperate Shanay go to the toilet, and instead taunted her with the ditty: 'I know a song that will get on your nerves'. He added that witnesses questioned by police following Shanay's death described Morris as a 'very strict' parent who frequently made her niece cry by shouting at her. Others told how Shanay was 'hysterical' at times, had 'lost her sparkle' after moving in with 'stern looking' Morris, and went from being a 'bubbly' child when her aunt wasn't around to 'introverted and anxious' when she was nearby. Kay-Ann Morris, who is on trial at Nottingham Crown Court charged with the murder of her niece, seven-year-old Shanay Walker, last July . The court heard teachers at Shanay's primary school had noticed injuries to her which were recorded in Safeguarding Referral forms and then shown to a social worker. But Morris gave explanations for the marks, telling staff a burn mark on the youngster's thigh was because she had stood too close to a radiator. Mr Pratt said she also claimed Shanay 'hurt herself'. He described how in the hours before her death, Shanay was seen running from Smikle's home in Top Valley, Nottingham, barefoot and in her pyjamas. When asked by two schoolgirls playing nearby if she was alright, the youngster replied she wasn't because 'her nana and her auntie were being horrible to her'. She then sought refuge in a local convenience store, where she was collected by the pair - with Smikle allegedly saying 'I don't care if it hurts' when she grabbed her granddaughter by the arm. That was the last time Shanay was seen alive by anyone outside her family. Police were alerted to Shanay's death by Morris' twin sister Kerry-Ann Morris, a serving soldier in the Royal Artillery, who was stationed in Germany. Morris had called her sibling in the early hours of July 31 last year to say her niece had been badly hurt after she fell down a flight of stairs. However, the court heard that after the call was cut off, Kerry-Ann told military police in Germany, who then contacted officers in Nottingham. Mr Pratt said that when police went to the family home, a council flat, they were met by a 'distressed and erratic' Morris who told them: 'Baby not asleep. Baby is dead.' She claimed Shanay had fallen down the stairs and hurt her neck, but that she had been 'alright' and had gone to bed. However, Morris said she later checked on the youngster, and was unable to wake her. Mr Pratt said a 'highly emotional' Smikle arrived at the house a short time later, as did paramedics who noticed straight away that Shanay was cold and stiff. The prosecutor added they also spotted blood staining to her head and extensive bruising on her legs. He said: 'These injuries did not look to him (the paramedic) like they had been sustained during an accidental fall down the staircase. 'He reported his finding to the police officers, more senior officers attended and in due course Kay-Ann Morris was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Shanay Walker. 'Shanay's body revealed the presence of 50 single or groups of fresh blunt force injury. The vast majority of these were bruises which were distributed across the face, torso, arms and legs. 'The most confluent areas of bruising (bruising that runs together) were on the hands, feet, and the buttocks.' The jury heard a post-mortem examination revealed Shanay had suffered a subdural haemorrhage in her brain, which ultimately led to her death. Mr Pratt added: 'We say that Kay-Ann Morris was lying when she told the police officers at the scene that Shanay had accidentally fallen down the stairs. 'It was lie told to try to cover up the truth that she had subjected her niece, a child in her care, to a sustained, vicious and brutal beating. 'Shanay had not simply fallen down the stairs - she had been the victim of sustained violence which caused her death. 'In the days that followed the investigation into the death of Shanay Walker broadened and revealed sadly the infliction of violence and cruelty that night, although obviously more serious that night, was by no means an isolated incident. 'In short, the investigation revealed that during her short life, Shanay had been subjected to repeated acts of cruelty by Kay-Ann Morris and Juanila Smikle.' The court heard that in police interviews after her arrest, Morris made no comment. She denies murder and child cruelty against Shanay and one other child, who can't be named for legal reasons. Smikle denies child cruelty against Shanay and four other youngsters, none of whom can be named. The trial, which is expected to last six weeks, continues. Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.
Guardian Kay-Ann Morris is on trial for murdering her niece Shanay, 7 . Paramedics found Shanay lying cold and stiff in bed at Nottingham home . Morris and mother, Juanila Smikle, claim she had fallen down the stairs . Paramedics later found 50 bruises on girl's face, torso, arms and legs . Prosecution say death was due to 'sustained, vicious and brutal beating'