In the early morning hours of July 5, 2019, Michael Cawley left his two-year-old daughter, Santina, with his girlfriend, Karen Harrington, at her apartment in Cork, Ireland. Michael and Karen had argued that morning, but Michael had no reason not to trust the woman he knew to be excellent with children. Michael couldn’t have predicted that he would return two hours later to find Santina naked under a blanket on the floor, bruised, bloody, and unresponsive.

This is the story of a happy baby with red hair, bright blue eyes, and a big, contagious smile who brought joy into the lives of everyone who knew her. It’s also the story of a woman whose unthinkably horrific actions baffled an entire country, leaving everyone with the same unanswerable question: Why?

This is part one of the heartbreaking story of Santina Cawley.

Bridget’s July 2019 interview with Neil Prendeville: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcAgqADP9_M

Photos related to today's episode can be viewed on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod

You can also follow the podcast on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sufferthelittlechildrenpod
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/sufferthelittlechildrenpodcast
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/STLCpod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@STLCpod

My Linktree is available here: https://linktr.ee/stlcpod

Visit the podcast's web page at https://www.sufferthelittlechildrenpod.com.

Please help make the show my full-time gig to keep the weekly episodes coming! By supporting me on Patreon, you'll also access rewards, including a shout-out by name on the podcast and exclusive gifts. Pledges of $5 or more per month access ad-free versions of my regular Wednesday episodes. Pledges of $10 or more per month access a small but growing collection of Patreon-exclusive bonus minisodes! Visit www.patreon.com/STLCpod.

You can also support the podcast at www.ko-fi.com/STLCpod.

This podcast is researched, written, hosted, edited, and produced by Laine.

For more stories like this one, visit https://sufferthelittlechildrenblog.com.

Music for this episode is from https://audiojungle.net.

Subscribe to Suffer the Little Children:
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/suffer-the-little-children/id1499010711
Google Podcasts: https://playmusic.app.goo.gl/?ibi=com.google.PlayMusic&isi=691797987&ius=googleplaymusic&apn=com.google.android.music&link=https://play.google.com/music/m/I5mx3lacxpdkhssmk2n22csf32u?t%3DSuffer_the_Little_Children%26pcampaignid%3DMKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16
Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/suffer-the-little-children
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/show/suffer-the-little-children
Pandora: https://www.pandora.com/podcast/suffer-the-little-children/PC:61848?part=PC:61848&corr=podcast_organic_external_site&TID=Brand:POC:PC61848:podcast_organic_external_site
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0w98Tpd3710BZ0u036T1KE
iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/77891101/
...or on your favorite podcast listening platform.