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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
National
Emma McMenamy

Child killer Karen Harrington locked in cell 23 hours a day with no visitors after 'everyone washed their hands of her'

Child killer Karen Harrington is locked in her cell 23 hours a day and is getting no visitors after “everyone washed their hands of her”.

The 38-year-old, serving a life sentence for the murder of two-year-old Santina Cawley in July 2019, is not allowed to mix with other inmates.

Prisoners at Limerick Prison want nothing to do with her due to the sickening nature of her crime.

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A source told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “Harrington is not liked at all. She’s currently under 23-hour lock up, allowed out for one hour to exercise.

“This is most likely a security measure as inmates who kill children are often targeted by other prisoners.

“Even prisoners who are in Limerick jail for heinous crimes still see child killers as the worst of the worst.

“She gets no visitors and doesn’t make any personal calls. All her friends appear to have washed their hands of her.

“She has nobody left.”

It emerged recently that Harrington had allegedly used some of her time behind bars to pen a letter to the murdered child’s mother, Bridget O’Donoghue.

The chilling handwritten note, which is signed off as being from “Karen”, says she “will not ever accept blame for something I did not do”.

It also claims she prays to the slain child “morn, noon and night”.

The letter – purporting to be from Harrington and sent to Santina’s heartbroken mother – claims she is innocent and invites her to visit her in prison.

Bridget O’Donoghue outside Cork Central Criminal Court (Mick O'Neill)

It also bizarrely states: “I know how you feel”, and signs off with “puddles of cuddles” for the murdered child’s mother.

Harrington was found guilty of Santina’s murder on May 16 after a 14-day trial at the Central Criminal Court.

She appealed her sentence later that month but a date has yet to be set for an appeal hearing.

The court heard how the tot was found critically injured by her father, Michael Cawley, in the early hours of July 5, 2019, at an apartment in Boreenmanna Road in Cork city.

Santina, whose father was in a relationship with Harrington at the time, had suffered 53 different injuries.

Harrington claimed she had gone home and fallen asleep, only to be woken from sleep by her then partner and father of the child.

Harrington accepted Santina was alive and alone with her when Mr Cawley left and went walking into Cork city centre – as seen on CCTV footage shown to the jury – but she said she could not confirm if Santina was uninjured at the time Mr Cawley left.

“No, I can’t confirm that”, said Ms Harrington before going on to say that she knew nothing about Santina’s injuries other than what she had heard like everyone else who heard evidence in the trial.

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