Liam Fee's mother granted permission to appeal murder conviction

Rachel Trelfa and her partner Nyomi Fee were convicted of murdering the two year-old at their home near Glenrothes in March 2014 after more than two years of horrific abuse.

Trelfa was jailed for 23 and a half years, while Fee was handed a 24-year sentence.

At the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh today a short hearing was heald to consider Trelfa’s bid to appeal against her conviction.

A panel of three judges gave her legal team permission to do so after hearing from defence counsel Gavin Anderson.

He argued the judge in the trial against Trelfa and Fee in May made mistakes when addressing jurors.

Mr Anderson said he had evidence to suggest Lord Burns misdirected jurors over the legal requirements needed to secure a murder conviction against Fee and argued the judge did not properly explain the lesser charge of culpable homicide to the jury.

Trelfa and Fee, originally from Ryton, Tyne and Wear, blamed Liam’s death on another young boy in their care.

They were also found guilty of a catalogue of abuse and neglect of two young boys over more than two years and attempting to defeat the ends of justice by blaming Liam’s death on one of the children.

Evidence was heard from dozens of witnesses, including video recorded interviews with the two older boys.

Fee and Trelfa maintained their innocence throughout the trial.

They both admitted they had neglected Liam by failing to seek medical help when he broke his leg a few days before his death, however.

Nursery staff and a childminder were among those who raised concerns about Liam’s welfare before his death.

The harrowing case was described as one of the worse child abuse cases ever seen in Scotland.