Glasgow babysitter tried to murder Cambuslang toddler


A martial arts fan who left a two year-old boy with a “torn colon and intestine” while babysitting the child has been found guilty
David McMullen brutally attacked the child just days before Christmas 2016.

The youngster was described as “gravely ill” as he was rushed to hospital for immediate surgery.

He suffered a tear in his stomach which could have killed him.

A trial heard how violent 35-year-old trained in Muay Thai fighting at the time.

Prosecutors said McMullen “delivered a blow” to the tiny victim resulting in the near-fatal internal injury.

But, despite the evidence, the boy’s mum told jurors she did not believe the thug was responsible.

McMullen – a chef who helps run a sushi company – is now behind bars after being convicted of attempted murder at the High Court in Glasgow.

He was guilty of inflicting massive “blunt force trauma” to the child by “means unknown”.

McMullen, of the city’s Provanmill, will learn his fate next month.

He was looking after the boy at his home in Cambuslang while his mum was at work.

A panicked McMullen later called stating the boy was sick and “freezing cold”.

She rushed home and gave her ill son a cuddle.

She recalled: “He told me his tummy was sore. It felt quite hard.

“I wrapped him in a big fluffy cover, but I could still feel how cold he was. I could also see that his lips were blue.”

The mum and McMullen raced the child to hospital.

The boy had bruising on his stomach and it was quickly decided he needed surgery.

The split to the colon and intestine area was described as “rare”.

The mum and McMullen were later told by medics they believed the injury was “non accidental”.

She recalled the surgeon stating to her: “I am telling you someone has done this to your child.”

But the mum “refused to believe” the boy had been deliberately harmed.

The woman denied trying to “protect” McMullen insisting he had previously looked after the boy.

She added: “If I had any concerns, I would not have left him.”

The court also heard the boy also hurt his face days before the murder bid.

But, McMullen insisted he accidentally hit the child with a door while babysitting him.

McMullen told jurors he had never deliberately harmed the boy.

Lord Armstrong deferred sentencing for reports.