Accused tampered with boy's meds, court told

A woman accused of attempting to murder a child was caught on a hidden camera as she tried to tamper with her intended victim's medication, a jury has heard.

Emma Jane Williams was arrested in January, having conducted internet searches for "the worst thing you could mix" with medicine being taken by the boy, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

Opening the case against Williams, 41, prosecutor Timothy Harrington said she "was plotting the demise" of the alleged victim, who cannot be identified because of reporting restrictions.

Williams, of Erdington, Birmingham, denies attempting to murder the boy.

Harrington said the defendant had tried to kill the teenager by interfering with his medication on a number of occasions.

The incident for which she was arrested was not a one off, he told the court, and he said it had not been accidental.

He said it was a "considered and planned deliberate action" to end the boy's life.

Harrington said Williams had researched how to tamper with the medication and had acted upon this.

"There is only one person who knows why she did what she did, she's not going to tell you," he told the jury. "She's never given any sensible reasoning"

"There is only one explanation and [that is] one of guilt and she was caught red handed," Harrington added.

The child had a number of different medications that he had to take on a daily basis to keep him alive, the court heard.

The jury was told police had recovered mobile phone messages and internet searches which showed a timeline of events.

In December the child complained that his medication did not taste like previous doses and suspicions began to rise, the jury heard.

On 27 December, Williams made four separate searches on the internet, Harrington said, relating to the effects of specific liquids on specific types of medicine.

A difference was noticed in the appearance of the boy's medication and it seemed as if somebody had added to it, the jury heard.

A hidden camera was later installed nearby where the medication was being stored and Williams was filmed tampering with it, the court was told.

It was after this that police were called and she was arrested.

The trial continues.

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