The father of murdered child Santina Cauley says he doesn’t want to be buried with her when he dies as “I refuse to accept she’s there.”
Speaking exclusively as he marks the third anniversary of his daughter’s death on July 5, Michael Cauley also hit back at killer Karen Harrington’s recent claims that she didn’t get a fair trial.
“The evidence was all over Karen Harrington. She had the fairest trial. It’s time for her to own up to her faults and maybe tell someone in jail what she did and try to give us just some peace,” he said.
Tragic tot Santina, two, was brutally murdered by Michael’s then-partner Karen Harrington at her apartment at Elderwood Park on the Boreenamanna Road in Cork - on this day - July 5, 2019.
In May of this year, Harrington was convicted of the child’s murder and sentenced to life in prison.
But speaking as Harrington is now said to be claiming to pals that she didn’t get a fair trial as she launches an appeal, Michael says the evidence against her was damning.
“The best way I can describe it is how it was explained to me,” Michael said.
“If you had a cake and left your child in a room with the cake, and when you returned you found it had been eaten but the child claims they didn’t eat it, what would you think?
“Say they had chocolate all over their mouth and crumbs are everywhere. They ate that cake.
“It’s the very same with Karen. She was the only person in the room with Santina when she died. She murdered Santina.
“What she’s at now saying she didn’t do it - she’s deluded.
“There was evidence all over the place,” he said.
Harrington’s murder trial heard how she claimed she fell asleep and was woken by Michael who asked her what she had done to his child.
Michael, who was out all night in the city, which the court heard was later backed up by CCTV evidence, came back to Harrington’s apartment in the early hours of the morning, where he made the horrific discovery of Santina’s injured body - and his then partner covered in blood.
Speaking now as he tries to come to terms with the third anniversary of her death, Michael says all he wants is for evil killer Harrington to confess to what she did - even to a fellow inmate.
“Karen should own up to her faults and tell someone in jail what she done and try to give us some little bit of peace.
“I hope that happens.
“We’re grieving terribly. It’s grief that we don’t even understand ourselves,” he said.
Michael says he can’t bring himself to visit Santina’s grave on the anniversary - and says he’s already decided that when he dies, he doesn’t wish to be buried with her, as he refuses to accept that she’s gone.
“When I die I don't want to be buried with Santina. I believe Santina should not be there so why should I be there? Now I will probably go to the same graveyard but I don't want to be buried there. I don't believe she should be there.
“And for me to throw myself there I’d feel like Karen Harrington put me there as well.”
The grieving father says he will spend today thinking about Santina and says he will still visit her grave every month.
“The anniversary will be a very difficult day for me and I don’t mark it or wish to celebrate it,” he said. “Santina should not be dead. She shouldn’t be there. But I will still visit the grave once a month. I just can’t bring myself to do it on that day. It’s too difficult."
Paying tribute to his “happy” “bubbly” daughter, Michael says he is often stopped by members of the public who had met her previously, and they recount to him how she was always smiling and ready to say hello.
“She couldn't put together sentences yet but she had a few words. People often tell me how she would say ‘hi’ to them and they remember her with that beautiful smile.
“She was always saying hi. She was a lovely, happy child. She was always happy. It’s three years now and it’s been an awful battle. She’s sadly missed every day.”
Michael says he’s still struggling to move on, and still has Santina’s clothes in his home, though they are now put away in bags, and he hopes to one day be able to give them away.
“I have her clothes there and I just haven’t been able to bring myself to go through them yet,” he said.
“But I hope to be able to do that very soon and to give some of them away. I want to give some to my sister as well as she wants to make some things out of them.
“We’re hoping to make pillow cases and things like that so that we have something to remember her by.”
Also paying tribute to Santina yesterday was her mother Bridget, who posted a picture of the child to her social media and said: “Love you my baby Santina.”
During the harrowing murder trial earlier this year, the court heard that Santina died from a traumatic brain injury and a severe spinal injury after suffering a fractured skull and fractures to her arm, leg and ribs while in the care of Karen Harrington.
The murder trial heard there wasn't a part of the little girl's body that wasn't bruised with a total of 53 injuries noted by the pathologist.
Doctors said the injuries suffered by the child were "unrecoverable."
Extensive CCTV footage showed the only person who had entered and left the flat with Santina at the time involved was Karen Harrington - while Michael Cauley, who she had had an earlier argument with, was not present.
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