A 30-YEAR-OLD man was still being questioned by police last night about the death of 15-month-old Millie Martin from Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, who died as a result of what has been described as a “horrific” assault.
The child was admitted to the Erne Hospital in Enniskillen on Thursday night and was then transferred to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, where she died. She was assaulted at a house in Glebe Park in Enniskillen.
For “operational reasons” the PSNI did not disclose the results of a postmortem on the child’s remains. Investigating officers, however, are said to have been deeply shocked by the extent of the injuries to the child.
Local sources said she appeared to have been subjected to a “brutal and sustained” assault. Police are also investigating whether the child was subjected to a sexual assault. On Saturday, a court granted police an extra 36 hours to continue to question the man who was arrested after the assault on the child.
In a statement, the Martin family said they were “deeply heartbroken by the death of our beautiful little Millie”.
“The entire close-knit family are numb with pain – we simply can’t believe that our loving, darling little angel is gone,” the statement continued.
“No words can describe the distress that we are going through right now. Millie was our beautiful and precious little girl and we feel blessed to have been able to share that short life. She lit up our lives and brought us endless joy.
“We will never, ever forget you, Millie, but know that you are in the safe arms of Jesus.”
The family said they were “going through unbearable grief” and asked the media to respect their privacy.
Local SDLP Assembly member Tommy Gallagher said the people of Enniskillen were shocked and saddened at Millie Martin’s death.
“People around the town will do their best to help the Martin family at this difficult time. At this time the thoughts of people are turning to little children, and that all the more makes it very hard for people to contemplate such a death of such a little innocent child,” he added.