Kelty woman Kerry Lafferty, who lived next door to tragic Madison Horn, will always feel “haunted by sadness” .
The tot was murdered by Kevin Park, who was this week jailed for 22 years.
Speaking exclusively to The Courier, Kerry, who gave evidence at the eight-day murder trial, said the sentence “wasn’t nearly long enough”.
“That little girl had 65 separate injuries inflicted on her, so how can it be?” the mother of two said.
Kerry was at home on the evening Madison endured the fatal injuries at the hands of Park, but was unaware of the abuse taking place next door.
As well as battering the tot’s head off a wall at least twice and punching and stamping on her, prosecutors believe he also hit her with a broken pool cue.
Her skull was fractured and she suffered internal bleeding and tearing to her liver. Madison’s mother Ann Marie White was at a friend’s birthday party when her daughter was killed.
Kerry said had she been aware of the sickening scenes that were unfolding through the walls next door she would have intervened and believes she could have been the last person to hear Madison alive.
“I’ve never spoken out about this before, but I just feel so much sadness because I was right next door and if only I had known what was happening I would have done something.
“The walls are quite thin and I did hear Madison screaming next door at around 6pm on the night it happened and also heard him (Park) shouting at her, but I didn’t think much of it as every parent shouts at their child from time to time and so I just put it down to a row. I didn’t hear anything else apart from that and I will always feel such sadness that I didn’t because if I had I would have intervened and perhaps she would still be here.”
Kerry, 29, who is mum to three-year-old Levi and Sophie, 1, said although she had lived in the Croftangry Road property for around two years, she never knew Park or Madison’s mother Ann Marie White well.
“I knew them to acknowledge, but that was about it I tend to just keep myself to myself to be honest. I never saw him (Park) until February actually as I had been in a car accident and was in hospital for some time so he must have moved in before I got home.
One woman, who lived in Croftangry Road but asked not to be named, said: “The whole street is just totally sickened about what happened to that poor wee girl, in fact the whole community is.
“We can’t understand how something so sickening could have gone on under our noses.
“The sad thing is she was well loved and seemed to be always well looked after as she had a big family and it’s just awful to think what that evil man did to her.”
The Courier approached various members of Madison’s family but they said they were “too shocked and upset” to speak at this time.