London - Solicitors for the British au pair Louise Woodward last night said they may call for the case to be reopened in the light of alleged new medical findings which claim to throw doubt on a court's conclusions.
An American news documentary, due to be broadcast in the US on Sunday, claims eight-month-old Matthew Eappen died of the effects of strangulation days before his death and was also the victim of serial abuse.
Dr Floyd Gilles, a neuropathologist, and Dr Marvin Nelson, a radiologist, at the Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, were asked by the CBS network to examine the medical records of baby Matthew. Their findings will be broadcast in the 60 Minutes programme tomorrow. Last night a spokesman for Woodward's US solicitors said: "One can always seek to reopen a legal case. Legal action is always a possibility. It shows that the injuries were not inflicted on that day - it was not done on Louise's watch." But he said he was waiting to see the programme before he commented on the validity of the new claims. SkyTV has bought the rights to broadcast the programme, said CBS.
Woodward was convicted in October 1997 of second-degree murder. On appeal the judge reduced her conviction to involuntary manslaughter and released her from prison.