A RESIDENT at the hostel where baby Ruby Spink was staying yesterday told a jury how the baby's mother called paramedics after her child stopped breathing and said she had choked on a piece of cake .

A RESIDENT at the hostel where baby Ruby Spink was staying yesterday told a jury how the baby's mother called paramedics after her child stopped breathing and said she had choked on a piece of cake .

The 11-month-old's “floppy and lifeless body” was rushed to the James Paget Hospital in Gorleston on September 16, last year. A post-mortem showed she was killed by a blow to the head - and she had also suffered broken ribs and fractures to both legs in separate incidents before her death. On one occasion she is reported to have suffered two black eyes.

Ruby's 18-year-old mum Laura Spink has already admitted neglect but her 17-year-old boyfriend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies murder. Instead he claims that Ruby died accidentally after choking on a piece of cake.

However paramedics found nothing blocking Ruby's airwaves and pathologist Nat Cary confirmed this was not the cause of death.

Giving evidence the girl, who was staying at the hostel at the time, said that Spink had come into the room to phone an ambulance and said that Ruby had stopped breathing after choking on a piece of cake.

The young mother said she went up to check on Ruby and Spink answered the door to her room.

“I asked her if Ruby was alright and she said, no, Ruby is not breathing.”

She said when paramedics arrived and rushed the baby to hospital Spink at first was reluctant to go to the hospital but was persuaded to go.

The girl said that the boyfriend also said he was not going to the hospital but she told him he ought to go to give Spink some support.

Later on, she saw him in the town and asked how Ruby was and he told her that the baby was dead.

He showed her a text message from Spink.

“He then just went off as if nothing had happened.”

Another resident said that Spink used to show off when her boyfriend was about and would ignore Ruby and pay him all her attention.

She also noticed that Ruby would cry every time the defendant went near her.

The defendant, who was not Ruby's father, was also seen by another resident swinging the baby by its feet. She said she told him to stop and when she told Spink about the incident, she had laughed.

On another occasion she said that Spink had given the baby some chips and she had to put her fingers down the baby's throat to stop her choking.

“She was often choking alot.”

The trial continues.