In less than two hours, in the early hours of the morning in Cork, a child who was believed to be safe inside a familiar apartment, slipped into an unimaginable tragedy. The silence in courtroom number six was broken when the jury announced that Karen Harrington, seen here earlier this morning on her way into court, was guilty of murdering Santina Collie.
She showed no emotion as the verdict was returned. July 5th, 2019, and Harrington was caring for little Santina at her apartment in Cork while the infant’s father was looking for a cousin of his in town. What really happened during that brief window of time? Santina Collie was born on May 6th, 2017 in Cork, Ireland.
She was the daughter of Michael Collie and Bridget Odonahghue who had been married since 2006. Santina was the youngest child in a family of five children with one older sister and three older brothers. [snorts] Prior to Santina’s birth, the couple had experienced a pregnancy loss which made her arrival especially meaningful to the entire family.
Santina was born prematurely but was soon able to return home where she was cared for in the loving arms of her relatives. In March 2018, when Santina was still very young, Michael and Bridget separated. Michael moved out and began living separately with two of his sons at the Leid Apartments complex on Graten Street in Cork City Center, while Bridget continued caring for the remaining three children at another residence elsewhere in the city in an area situated between the two branches of the River Lee.
In December 2018, Michael Collie began a romantic relationship with a woman named Karen Harrington. The two dated while maintaining separate residences, and the relationship was believed to be stable. By the spring of 2019, shortly before Santina’s birthday, Michael was frequently staying at Karen’s apartment.
During this period, a serious incident occurred while Santina was under her mother’s care. She was playing at her grandmother’s home when while running after her brother, she slipped and fell down several steps, resulting in a thigh injury. Due to the unusual nature of such an injury in a very young child, Tusla, Ireland’s child protection agency, opened an assessment file to ensure Santina’s safety.
After reviewing the circumstances, Tusla decided to transfer Santina’s care from Bridget to Michael. The two sons who had previously been living with Michael were arranged to return to live with their mother, meaning Michael became directly responsible for caring for Santina, while Bridget continued to raise the remaining four children.
As spring turned into summer in 2019, Michael continued to spend a significant amount of time with Karen Harrington and often brought Santina along with him. Santina appeared comfortable around Karen and those around them described the relationship between the two as positive. Karen was known to have experience caring for children rooted in her family circumstances as she had taken on responsibility for looking after her younger siblings from the age of 15 after her mother became ill at the family home on Ravensdale Road in the
Mahan area of Cork. At the time, Karen was 38 years old and had a reputation as a reliable child minder, frequently being entrusted with the care of friends and acquaintances children when needed. On July 4th, 2019, Michael Collie picked up Karen Harrington along with Santina and brought her into Cork City Center.
Over the course of the day, Karen visited a casino, stopped by to see a friend, and spent time visiting her grandmother. At one point, Michael and Karen met up again at the apartment of a friend named Martina, located within walking distance of Karen’s apartment in the same area. There they socialized with friends and consumed a considerable amount of alcoholic drinks, and there were also reports indicating that they were exposed to harmful substances.
Later that evening, Michael received a message from a cousin traveling from Limrich who was on his way to Cork. And Michael expressed a desire to invite him to stay overnight at Karen’s apartment. After discussing it, Michael and Karen agreed that he would stay at her apartment that night, as both of them had been drinking and it was no longer safe for Michael to drive home.
while his own residence was also too far to reach on foot. However, this change in plans reportedly left Karen feeling unhappy. Karen stated that she already had her own plans and did not agree to allow Michael’s relative to stay overnight in her apartment, which led to a tense argument between the two.
Michael later claimed that he did not remember using any insulting language. However, multiple witnesses present at Martina’s apartment gave consistent accounts that Michael made remarks that were demeaning and verbally attacking toward Karen that night, while also making accusations regarding relationships he considered inappropriate.
As the argument escalated, Karen decided to leave the gathering at Martina’s home. Michael suggested that she take Santina with her, but Karen refused, stating that the responsibility for caring for the child belonged to him and then left alone. Surveillance camera footage shows that Karen returned to her apartment at 26 Elderwood Park, Cork, at approximately 6 a.m.
In the early morning hours of July 5th, 2019, at approximately 300 a.m., Michael left Martina’s apartment and brought Santina back to Karen Harrington’s apartment. Along the way, he alternated between carrying the sleeping child in his arms and pushing her in a stroller. Surveillance camera footage recorded Michael arriving at Karen’s apartment at 26 Elderwood Park at 3:06 a.m.
and leaving roughly 4 minutes later. During this brief window, at around 3:10 a.m., several nearby residents reported hearing loud arguing coming from inside the apartment. According to later statements, Michael intended to place the sleeping Santina on a folded blanket laid out on the floor as a temporary resting spot.
However, the argument appeared to have caused the child to wake up. Michael did not remain to calm Santina, but instead left the apartment, leaving her with Karen, and walked around the Cork City Center in an attempt to locate the cousin who was visiting the city. After approximately 2 hours without finding him, Michael returned to Karen’s apartme
nt complex at around 7 a.m. and was stopped by a neighbor before entering the apartment, who warned him that Karen appeared distressed and that there had been repeated screaming earlier. Michael then entered the apartment, but less than 1 minute later, he came back out onto the balcony in a state of panic, calling for help and stating that his daughter was no longer responsive.
Immediately after, Michael rushed out onto the balcony calling for help. A neighbor promptly contacted the Garta to report the situation. When Michael went back inside Karen Harrington’s apartment, he found the living space in disarray with furniture displaced and multiple unusual signs concentrated around the kitchen area, indicating that a serious incident had occurred earlier.
Santina was not lying on the blanket that had been prepared as intended, but was instead under a different blanket with her face covered. Karen was sitting on the sofa and showed no reaction or explanation regarding the condition of the apartment. When Michael checked on his daughter, he noticed that Santina was no longer fully dressed and that there were multiple signs of injury on her body.
He attempted to determine whether she was responsive, but could not detect any breathing or clear signs of reaction. Michael picked Santina up and repeatedly asked Karen what had happened. but received no response. When he tried to hand Santina to Karen, she immediately pushed the child back toward him and fled the apartment in a state of panic, leaving without even putting on her shoes.
Garta arrived at the scene just minutes after the call and instructed Michael to remain outside the apartment. Sergeant David Tobin observed multiple unusual signs within the kitchen area and declared the apartment sealed for investigation. Shortly afterward, medical personnel arrived and took over care of Santina, noting that she showed no clear signs of responsiveness while Michael stood nearby.
During this time, Karen returned to the courtyard area with an acquaintance where several residents had gathered after being awakened by earlier screaming. Michael saw Karen and questioned her about the origin of the marks inside the apartment. Karen replied that they were her own and claimed she had been injured by a broken object, but the exchange was quickly cut short when the person accompanying her intervened to prevent the situation from escalating.
Santina was then removed from the apartment and transferred to an ambulance to continue receiving emergency care. While Michael was not permitted to accompany her due to the need for space during treatment, Garta offered to bring Michael to the station, but he refused, stating that he wanted to go to the hospital to be near his daughter.
Michael walked to Cork University Hospital with a Garta officer accompanying him to ensure safety. At the hospital, Santina was connected to life support equipment. However, doctors quickly determined that her condition was extremely critical with multiple signs of injury on her body, indicating that this was not an ordinary incident.
At approximately 7 a.m. that same day, Bridget O’Donghue heard a knock at the door of her residence, and when she opened it, she found Garta officers standing outside. They confirmed Bridget’s identity and informed her that Santina had suffered severe injuries and needed to be taken to the hospital immediately, but provided no further details at that time.
Garta arranged a taxi to take Bridget to Cork University Hospital. And as she left, one of her sons got into the vehicle with her. When Bridget arrived at the hospital, doctors escorted her into a private room where the medical team informed her that Santina had passed away. Bridget tried to understand what had led to her daughter’s condition, but did not receive any specific answers, and she was then asked whether she wished to see her child one last time, which she agreed to do.
I have to go in to that room and they said, “Do you want to hold her?” I said, “Do I want to what?” Of course, I want to hold her. I holded her and I was I was trying to bring her back. She was very cold. So I was trying to, you know, warm her up. I didn’t want to believe she was, you know, she just didn’t want this.
She all rises up and all I want to do is just take her home. At the hospital, Bridget was taken into a private room to see Santina one last time. During those brief moments, she held her daughter in her arms and tried to call her name, but Santina showed no response. Bridget noticed multiple severe signs of harm on her child’s body, making it clear that the situation was beyond any medical intervention.
Doctors later confirmed that there were no remaining options for treatment and proceeded to withdraw life support equipment. Santina passed away in her mother’s arms on the morning of July 5th, 2019. By approximately 9:20 a.m. m on July 5th, 2019, Bridget, Michael, members of the Garta, and medical professionals were all in agreement that the harm Santina had suffered could not have resulted from an accidental incident.
According to Michael’s account, Santina was in a normal condition when he left the apartment at around 3 a.m. and during the period that followed, Karen Harrington was the only person with the child. Garta then carried out a detailed search of the apartment to collect evidence. Numerous unusual signs were documented, concentrated primarily in the kitchen area, indicating that a struggle had taken place, while the living room showed little comparable disturbance aside from the blanket where Santina had been placed.
Investigators seized two pairs of children’s leggings, one of which still contained a diaper and showed signs of being forcefully pulled, while the other was found in the kitchen area along with biological traces. In addition, a pair of adult leggings from Karen’s bedroom was collected with forensic analysis revealing biological traces belonging to both Karen and Santina.
Strands of hair discovered on the sofa and the floor were identified as Santas, indicating that significant force had been involved. Several other personal items belonging to Santina, including clothing and earrings, were also found scattered throughout the apartment. In the early stage of the investigation, Garta focused on determining responsibility and excluding alternative explanations.
As Michael and Karen were the two adults directly responsible for Santina’s care during the period leading up to the incident, both Michael and Karen stated that they did not know exactly what had happened to Santina during that period, which meant Garta had to focus on determining which account accurately reflected the events as they unfolded.
Following the initial rounds of questioning, the investigation confirmed that the two adults were directly responsible for Santina’s care during the critical time frame, but no admissions were made by either party. Garta proceeded to cross-check the statements against surveillance camera footage and call records in order to verify every detail.
Michael maintained that Santina was in a normal condition when he left the apartment at around 3 a.m. Jitan and stated that he then moved around the city center for approximately 2 hours before returning and discovering what had occurred. He also voluntarily handed over all the clothing he had been wearing that night, and forensic testing found no biological traces or indicators, suggesting his direct involvement during that period.
Karen, meanwhile, claimed that Michael left Santina in her care and that she quickly fell asleep, only waking when Michael returned in a state of panic. To verify Michael’s account, Garter reviewed more than 300 hours of surveillance footage from camera systems across multiple locations throughout the city.
Analysis of the surveillance footage showed that the period during which Michael left Martina’s apartment, brought Santina to Karen’s apartment, and then departed to look for his relative was very brief. Citywide camera data recorded Michael moving on foot multiple times between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m. consistent with his statement that he was not with Santina during that time frame.
At the same time, security cameras at the apartment complex where Karen lived, which covered both entry and exit points of the apartment, did not record any other individuals entering or leaving the apartment during that period. nor did they show Karen leaving the residence. A review of the call logs of both Michael and Karen indicated that Karen was not asleep between 3 a.m.
and shortly before 5 a.m. as she made multiple phone calls to friends, her sister Michelle and another resident within the apartment complex. taken together. These data points reinforced the assessment that during that period, Karen was the only person with Santina inside the apartment. The next step for Garta was to interview residents within the apartment complex to determine whether anyone had witnessed or heard anything unusual during the period between 3:00 a.m.
and 500 a.m. Although it was initially assumed that the early morning hours would make information difficult to obtain, it emerged that several residents had noticed abnormal events. Some neighbors reported hearing loud noises coming from Karen’s apartment that night. One resident stated that at around 300 a.m.
when Michael brought Santina back to the apartment, they recognized the voices of both Michael and Karen, then heard Karen shouting, followed by the sound of glass breaking after Michael left. That resident attempted to check on Karen’s welfare by knocking on the apartment door, but received no response, prompting them to seek out another related apartment in an effort to make contact and confirm that no emergency situation was unfolding.
After several attempts at knocking, Karen eventually opened the apartment door. The neighbor stated that prior to this, they had heard noises coming from inside along with a tense sounding voice believed to be Karen’s. When she opened the door, Karen’s first question was whether the Garta were present, after which she reassured the neighbor that she was fine, apologized for the noise, and said she was going to rest.
The neighbor observed that Karen appeared anxious and more withdrawn than usual and believed that she did not actually go to sleep afterward. Around the same time, Dylan, who lived in the adjoining apartment, reported being awakened by prolonged loud noises coming from Karen’s apartment, including the sound of furniture being pushed and a sliding glass door repeatedly being opened and slammed shut.
Dylan shouted a warning that he would call the guarda if the noise did not stop. After which Karen left the apartment and went down into the shared courtyard in an agitated state, continuing to shout and demanding that he contact the authorities. A short time later, Karen returned to her apartment, and Dylan continued to hear the sound of a small child crying, accompanied by Karen’s raised voice, which caused him to become increasingly concerned about what was happening inside the apartment.
Dylan further stated that he heard Karen’s voice alternating with the sound of a small child crying, including remarks that he perceived as mocking in tone before being abruptly cut off by a loud shout at approximately 4:31 a.m. In response to this development, Dylan decided to call the Garta to report the situation.
When officers arrived at the apartment complex, all noise had ceased. There was no longer any crying, shouting, or sounds of objects being struck, and the area had become unusually quiet. The officers knocked on the door of Karen’s apartment, but received no response. During the call, Dylan did not specifically mention hearing a child crying, instead focusing primarily on the prolonged noise disturbance after multiple attempts to intervene.
Garta left the scene at approximately 4:56 a.m. advising Dylan to contact them again if the situation escalated. Roughly 10 minutes later, Michael returned to the apartment and discovered Santina in an unresponsive condition. Karen Harrington was arrested by the Garta on Monday, July 8th, 2019 as part of the investigation, but was released on July 9th after authorities determined that there was insufficient evidence to bring charges at that time.
In the days that followed, Bridget O’Doniku took part in several meetings and interviews related to the case, during which she expressed her determination for the truth to be fully uncovered and for the person responsible for the tragedy that took her daughter’s life to be held accountable under the law. Why did you do it to my baby? Why? Why? Why? That’s the answer.
That’s called Why? She didn’t give the answer. Wait till she kill my baby. Like, what did she do with her? She’s only two. Hold on. She’s only a baby. Like, what did she do? Nothing at all. I’m very angry with that woman. She just sat there inside court just as like nothing happened. She was playing the game.
That’s why I see it. And she really upset me. We have our lovely memories and that’s the best thing we have. But we’ll never get over what happened to our my little baby our little our little baby. Like you know she was so gentle. You can’t believe like someone could do that. Whatever the report came back as her as we all heard the beaten she got.
That was horrifying. You couldn’t do that to babe. You couldn’t do that. You couldn’t do that to nobody. I don’t know how the man she got so much brutal beating. It’s horrifying and how she could just look there in the courtroom thinking there was nothing happening and she done it. Both Michael and Karen were repeatedly summoned by Garta for questioning throughout the investigation.
Karen underwent a total of five separate interview sessions with police. And during the final interview, investigators asked her to try to reconstruct the events that occurred in the apartment that night, including the moment Michael left and the surrounding circumstances. According to Karen’s statement, she said an argument took place with Michael at around 3 a.m.
and that Santina began crying when Michael left the apartment. Karen claimed she believed Santina was uncomfortable due to the temperature, so she removed some of the child’s clothing and placed Santina on a blanket, after which she lay down on the sofa and believed she fell asleep. Investigators, however, did not accept this explanation based on the evidence collected, but Karen continued to maintain that she was not fully conscious during that period.
When shown images related to the scene, Karen displayed a visibly emotional reaction, but was unable to provide a clear explanation of what had happened to Santina during the time Michael was absent. In August 2019, Karen Harrington was arrested by Garta for a second time and formally charged with causing the tragedy that led to Santina’s death, at which point the case began to receive widespread media attention.
At the time of her arrest, Karen was approximately 4 months pregnant. She was initially unaware of the pregnancy and was held in custody for several weeks before being released on bail pending trial, a process that extended until 2022. In late October 2019, Karen gave birth prematurely to a baby boy who required a short period of medical monitoring at Cork Hospital.
Meanwhile, Bridget fell into a state of deep distress as the woman accused of being directly involved in her daughter’s death remained free on bail. While the local community expressed confusion and unease over the unfolding case, Karen had previously been regarded by friends and acquaintances as a trusted child minder, leading many to say they struggled to believe she could be connected to the severe harm outlined in the investigation file.
Karen’s family and relatives also stated that they had never observed any history of behavior suggesting harm toward children. While the legal process was ongoing, Santina’s family faced immediate practical challenges, including arranging her funeral. Due to limited financial means, a family friend appealed for support from the local community, resulting in the creation of a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe through the Neil Prenderville program on Red FM in Cork with the funds raised used to cover Santina’s funeral costs and the remaining balance directed
toward charitable activities within the community. It’s been an horrific 10 days for you. How are you bearing up? Well, I’m trying to keep strong for my kids, but my heart inside is broken. My world is destroyed. Santina was laid to rest on July 12th, 2019 in a small white coffin. Her family chose her clothing and held a Catholic funeral service specifically for young children known as the Mass of the Angels.
The service was attended by relatives and members of the local community with photos and video clips capturing Santina’s everyday moments played in her memory. Several familiar items connected to her daily life were also placed inside the coffin. After the ceremony concluded, Santina’s parents and family accompanied her to her final resting place at St.
Catherine’s Cemetery in the Killy area of Cork. Following the burial, the family continued to tend to and decorate her grave as a way of remembering her and preserving her memory. In November 2019, the full forensic report in Santina’s case was released. The findings concluded that Santina had sustained a total of 53 injuries, most of which were external signs of harm, along with several severe internal injuries involving complex damage across her body.
The report also documented an older thigh injury that showed signs of healing and was determined to have occurred several months earlier. Forensic specialists stated that the number, severity, and distribution of the injuries on Santina’s body were inconsistent with a routine household accident and instead indicated repeated forceful impact over a short period of time.
Based on the extent of the injuries to the head area, doctors concluded that Santina was likely rendered unconscious almost immediately. And this was identified as the critical factor that led to her passing. Because the trial was repeatedly delayed due to the impact of the pandemic, Karen Harrington remained out on bail for an extended period with bail set at €5,000 and was permitted to reside at the home of an acquaintance.
The bail conditions included reporting to the Garta twice daily, complying with a curfew from 8:00 p.m., not approaching the address where the incident occurred from 8 a m onward, having no contact with Santina’s family, and surrendering her passport. In 2021, as Santina’s family continued to wait for the court proceedings on January 26th, Michael unexpectedly saw Karen on a bus at a time when the trial was scheduled to begin, but was again postponed.
In a moment of lost control, Michael followed Karen and an assault occurred, resulting in soft tissue injury to her. The incident was captured on surveillance camera footage and Michael later voluntarily admitted his actions before the court. Michael acknowledged that he had failed to control his emotions and stated that the matter should have been left to the legal system and as a result he was sentenced to 10 months in prison fully suspended on the condition that he commit no further offenses within a 2-year period.
The trial of Karen Harrington formally began in April 2022 and was scheduled to last between 4 and 5 weeks. Throughout the investigation and during the court proceedings, Karen consistently maintained that she was not responsible for what had occurred and claimed that she had no clear memory of the events during that period.
Prior to the trial, investigators repeatedly compared Karen’s statements with the evidence collected, which showed that no other individuals had entered the apartment at the time the incident took place. Karen also confirmed the timeline of Michael leaving the apartment and acknowledged that she was the only person caring for Santina during that window of time.
When asked to explain the significance of these facts, Karen admitted that the evidence pointed toward her. Yet, she continued to insist that she had no clear recollection of what happened inside the apartment in the early hours of that morning. Throughout the trial, Karen Harrington was permitted to conceal her face with sunglasses and a mask, and she displayed no notable reaction as evidence and testimony were presented over several consecutive weeks.
Garta stated that more than 90 officers were involved in the investigation. following over 450 leads and collecting 320 witness statements in order to fully reconstruct the sequence of events. In court, some residents of the apartment complex testified about the level of trust they had previously placed in Karen, while other witnesses described the unusual sounds they heard on the night the incident occurred.
Forensic experts and medical professionals gave specialist testimony, confirming the severity of the harm Santina had suffered, particularly in light of her very young age and fragile physical condition. Sergeant David Tobin, the first officer to arrive at the scene, also testified about his observations upon entering the apartment in the early morning hours, describing Santina as showing no signs of responsiveness when she was found.
thereby reinforcing the conclusions presented before the jury. Sergeant David Tobin continued his testimony, stating that he detected no heartbeat or signs of breathing when he checked Santina at the scene and that he attempted to administer initial assistance appropriate to her very small physical condition.
During the trial, Karen Harrington took the stand and once again maintained that she was not responsible for what had happened to Santina, offering no additional detail beyond denying any role in the events. Karen was subjected to only about 15 minutes of cross-examination during the 4-week trial and held firmly to her position each time the prosecution emphasized that no other individual had been present in the apartment at the critical time.
She continued to claim that she had no clear memory of those hours and therefore could neither confirm nor deny the actions that had occurred. Near the end of the trial, the prosecutor referred to the fact that many witnesses consistently described Karen as a trustworthy person, arguing that this trust was a central element of the case, as Michael Collie had no reason to doubt Santina’s safety when he left her in the apartment.
After considering all the evidence and testimony, the jury, composed of seven men and four women, deliberated for 4 hours and 46 minutes before reaching a verdict that Karen Harrington bore criminal responsibility for the tragedy that led to the death of Santina Collie. The silence in courtroom number six was broken when the jury announced that Karen Harrington, seen here earlier this morning on her way into court, was guilty of murdering Santina Collie.
She showed no emotion as the verdict was returned. July 5th, 2019, and Harrington was caring for little Santina at her apartment in Cork while the infant’s father was looking for a cousin of his in town. The trial heard Harrington and Michael Collie had been arguing earlier in the night. Shortly after 5:00 a.m.
, Michael Collie returned to find his daughter lying in a bloodstained duvet, fighting for her life. She died in her mother’s arms a number of hours later. A postmortem found 2-year-old Santina Collie, described in court as little and defenseless, sustained a complex fractured skull, an injury to her spinal cord, as well as 49 external injuries and four internal injuries.
At all times, 38-year-old Harrington had denied she murdered Santina Collie, but the trial was told DNA and CCTV don’t lie. Karen Harrington is now beginning her first night of a life sentence behind bars. And our southern correspondent Paul Burn is outside court courthouse for us this evening.
So Paul, the sentencing happened straight away after the verdict was returned. And the court also heard some powerful victim impact statement today. That’s right. Um Caroline, this was an extremely distressing and difficult case from trial for everyone to sit through. And of course remember that the jury have been listening to this evidence, hours and hours of evidence since April 25th.
Experienced officers privately have been telling me that this was one of the most harrowing cases of their career. A team of top investigators have been working on this case not since April 25th, but moments after Santino was found critically injured. That’s when this investigation commenced. They were working around the clock. CCTV and the amount of CCTV footage they gathered proved vital in this investigation.
Every eye was dotted, every tea was crossed, and they brought this case before the courts. Earlier today, one of the lead investigators, Inspector Danny Colin, who spoke to the media, was part of that investigation team. The murder of Santina Collie has had a profound impact on Santina’s extended family and across the community.
Ones notes the decision the court has made today in the conviction and sentence of Karen Harrington for the murder of Santina. The early provision of statements, CCTV, social media clips, doorbell cameras, and cooperation with house-to-house inquiries greatly aided this investigation. I would like to particularly thank the dedicated investigation team who have worked in this case for almost 3 years.
Justice for Santina was always the ultimate goal for the team since her murder on the 5th of July, 2019. This was a particularly emotive case for the members that attended the scene and the investigation team, many having children of a similar age. Santina was always in our thoughts. We would like to again publicly express our sympathies to Santina’s family and Angaron will continue to support them as they continue to grieve for Santina.
Mr. Justice Michael McGrath who presided over this trial also acknowledged and complimented the investigation team. Now, just before Karen Harrington was sentenced this afternoon, victim impact statements were read out on behalf of Santina’s mother, Bridget O’Donn, and her father, Michael Collie, who left court without making a comment.
But basically summing up those victim impact statements, Michael Collie said his daughter was beautiful and funloving. His little girl had a very, very cute smile. Her beautiful eyes, blue eyes, and red hair will be sorely missed. May 6th, he said, was Santina’s birthday, she would have been five.
She would have been five during this trial, but he said all they have now is heavenly birthdays. Her mother, Bridget Odon, who said she can remember receiving a knock on the door in the early hours of the morning on July 5th, 2019, a guard standing there telling her that Santina had been involved in an accident and she had to go to Cork University Hospital where a number of hours later, little Santina was placed in her mother’s arms.
And she said she can remember the bruising and the swelling on her little girl’s face. And she said basically, “My little girl, she said, was in a dreadful condition. Her anger towards Karen Harrington, she said, will never ever dissipate.” And she said she can always and always thinks about what Santina may have been thinking in the final moments of her life.
Now, on the way out of court this this afternoon, uh, Bridget was accompanied by her solicitor, Don Daly, who made a statement on behalf of Bridget Odonu. I’ve been asked by Bridget, mother of Santina, to make a very brief statement in respect to this matter. She would like to thank the guard for their professionalism and humanity throughout this case.
She especially wishes to mention guard Brendan Ryan, Detective Cormack Trotty, Detective Inspector Danny Colin. She would also like to thank her neighbors for their support throughout this nightmare. She will be forever in debt to the first responders and the medical staff of C who fought so long and so hard to save Santina’s life.
Uh she has said all there is to say in her victim impact report and doesn’t wish to make any further comments. She now wishes simply to get on with her life to mourn Santina with her children. Thank you very much. The circumstances of this case were completely and absolutely shocking and no parent should have to bury their child.
Those were some of the words for Mr. Justice Michael McGra while he was handing down the mandatory life sentence to Karen Harrington. She of course made no reaction, gave no reaction, made no statement whatsoever. Uh she was standing by her decision that she did not murder Santina Collie. She was then led from the courthouse uh to begin a journey where she will now spend the rest of her life in Limrich prison.
On May 16th, 2022, Karen Harrington was sentenced to life imprisonment and transferred to serve her sentence at a detention facility in Limrich, where she was placed in largely segregated custody for safety reasons. Shortly after the sentence was handed down, Bridget O’Don received a letter sent by Post that was believed to have been written by Karen in which she continued to deny responsibility, expressed a desire for understanding, and proposed a meeting to talk.
This contact caused Bridget concern as legal conditions did not permit direct communication and the origin of the letter has not been conclusively verified. Around the same period, Bridget faced housing difficulties and had to seek accommodation support for herself and her children, though no public updates regarding the family’s place of residence had been released as of early 2024.
From a legal standpoint, Karen filed an appeal arguing that the use of surveillance camera footage violated her right to privacy, but the appeal was rejected on the grounds that the images had been captured in public areas. As this case comes to a close, what lingers is not only the court’s verdict, but a profound lesson about responsibility, trust, and the dangerous gaps that can exist even within relationships that appear safest on the surface.
The case shows how a brief lapse in control can lead to irreversible consequences while underscoring the critical importance of protecting children and the role of community vigilance. Thank you for taking the time to follow today’s story with True Crime Documentary.
If you have any thoughts or emotions about this case, please leave a comment as a way of remembering the victim. Don’t forget to share the video, hit like, and subscribe to continue accompanying True Crime Documentary in the stories to come. Goodbye, and see you in the next episodes.
