Baby girls fighting for lives after bashing
By Kara Lawrence and David Barrett
February 12, 2008 06:01am
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RELATIVES of a young mother whose twin baby girls are fighting for their lives after allegedly being bashed by their father rushed to Sydney last night to support her in a hospital vigil.
The girls remained in a critical condition after both undergoing surgery for massive head injuries, including skull fractures, at Westmead Children's Hospital.

The four-month-old sisters were flown to Westmead from Orange Base Hospital in the state's Central West.

The children had been in the care of their father, 23, from Ermington in Sydney's west, since Thursday morning.

He allegedly assaulted the children before arriving in Orange, where their mother had been at a family birthday celebration. He arrived about 7.30pm on Sunday.

The girls' 21-year-old mother, also from Ermington, decided they needed urgent medical attention, the mother's sister said.

"My sister knew straight away that something was wrong. She just jumped straight in the car and took them to hospital," the babies' aunt said.

Doctors at Orange Base Hospital called police, who arrested the father at the hospital.

He was charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm and assault.

The accused, who cannot be identified, applied for bail and his lawyer argued the injuries could have been accidental.

Magistrate Jan Stevenson replied: "Two small children who were in the care of your client are fighting for their lives."

Attending the court hearing with relatives was the twins' three-year-old brother, who cried out: "Daddy, daddy."

Crime scene officers and detectives yesterday scoured the family's Ermington home where the couple lived until recently, emerging with bags filled with items seized from the house.

The couple lived there for the past five months but they split three weeks ago and the man moved back into his parents' nearby home.

The girls' aunt, whose family drove from Orange to Sydney late yesterday, said the pair's relationship had remained "amicable" despite the split.

"(The girls) mean everything to her. Everyone was so happy when she had twins," she said.

A Department of Community Services spokeswoman said there had been a previous report received about a member of the family but it did not relate to the father or the twin babies.

The father is due before Parramatta Local Court next Monday.