Klevi Pirjani, 37, stands accused of “systematically abusing” and murdering his baby son, who died aged just 13 weeks in November last year at the family’s home in Seacombe, Wirral
A man accused of abusing and murdering his three-month-old baby boy has told a jury he was “the best dad in the world”.
Klevi Pirjani, 37, and his wife Nivalda Santos Pirjani, 34, are both on trial at Liverpool Crown Court, charged with the murder of their son Miguel, who went into cardiac arrest and later died in November last year. Doctors found that the baby had a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and numerous broken bones, which were of “varying ages”.
Miguel’s parents are accused of “systematically abusing” him before his death. While both deny this charge, the mum has admitted a count of causing or allowing the death of a child.
Giving evidence to the court today, Klevi Pirjani – a former chef and digger driver – described himself as “the best dad in the world” and described the moment that he learned he was going to have a son as a “dream”, Liverpool Echo reports. Miguel was born at Liverpool Women’s Hospital on August 27 last year with a variety of health problems. Pirjani said in court: “I was worried about my son. I was worried all the time. I was asking the doctors all the time, 24/7.”
When asked by his defence team, “Mr Pirjani, the injuries to your baby son were extensive, devastating and fatal. Did you cause any of those injuries?”, he appeared emotional as he replied: “How can I harm my son? I never would do that. I love my son so much. My blood, you know. I cared for him, the best treatment for him. I loved him so much.”
Emergency services attended the family home on Percy Road in Seacombe, Wirral, on November 24, 2024, “within minutes” and found the baby in cardiac arrest. He was rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in an “extremely serious” condition.
Doctors found that he had bruising on the left side of his head, a fissure to his skull, bleeding on the brain and fractures to his right collarbone, left upper arm and left shin. Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, told the court: “The inevitable conclusion to be drawn from the injuries was that Miguel had been subjected to a course of conduct in which serious and obvious injuries had been sustained.”
Miguel remained in an unconscious state for several days, although his injuries were ultimately found to be “irreversible”. He remained on life support until November 29, 2024, when he died following the removal of artificial ventilation. A post-mortem examination later revealed further injuries, including retinal haemorrhages, displaced skull bones, bleeding on both sides of the brain, bleeding around the cervical cord and a fatal hypoxic ischaemic brain injury.
Under questioning from his counsel Sarah Vine KC, Pirjani told the jury that he moved to the UK with his family from his native Albania in 2006 with spells living in Italy and Germany. Pirjani appeared to become emotional when asked what his sister’s name was, saying: “My sister died a long time ago. I was around eight years old. My dad died. It was war, 1996. It was the Balkan War. There was people killed every day, children. It was no life for me as a child. After my dad was killed, six months after my dad, my sister died as well.”
Pirjani said he met his wife Nivalda at a party “around the end of 2013” while living in Birmingham, before later moving to Liverpool in order to live with her. He said of their relationship: “It was a very good relationship, very strong. All the time, I was in work. Nivalda was working. It was very good.”
However, he claimed that Nivalda’s “behaviour became a bit strange” and that she “didn’t want him to speak to” their neighbours, with whom he was “very close”. He denied been violent and controlling towards her and said that she had never tried to leave the relationship, saying: “If she wanted to go, she could go. I can’t stop her.”
Ms Vine put to him his wife’s earlier evidence – her account of Mr Pirjani “getting angry and losing control” when Miguel was unable to feed properly, leading to him “banging him on the bed, on the floor a lot of times” before “kicking him on the left side of his hips”, to him. He denied these claims, saying: “No, that’s not true. How can I harm my son? Never can I harm my son.”
Pirjani said he would “never miss any” of Miguel’s various medical appointments but denied having prevented doctors and nurses from examining him, saying: “No, I was asking the doctors over and over about Miguel’s health. If he was gonna be alright, if he was gonna be healthy. I was scared for Miguel. I always did the best thing for him.”
On the night of November 23 last year, Pirjani recalled that the baby had “settled down and gone to sleep” in his pram before he went upstairs in their home, but recalled that he then returned downstairs to find him “coughing very badly”. He said: “I went quick to see. I called Nivalda. She was standing in the kitchen, by the kitchen door. I said, you didn’t hear Miguel coughing? It’s your baby, it’s not just mine. I say, how you cannot hear?
“I didn’t know what to do. He was still coughing a lot. Nivalda came. I said, Miguel is not well, we need to ring the ambulance. I went in the ambulance with Miguel, and then Nivalda came, I think in a police car. I called Nivalda on the way. I called to give some update.”
Asked whether he had “talked to her about getting their story straight”, Pirjani replied: “No. The doctors told me Miguel would be ok. The doctors told me he was in good hands. That’s what I was saying to Nivalda. Nivalda was angry when she came to the hospital. On the phone, as well, she was very angry. She spoke a bit loud. She was angry. I was trying to give some update about my Miguel.”
When Ms Vine asked why Nivalda was angry, Pirjani said: “I don’t know. After Miguel was born, Nivalda had depression and she became very aggressive. I had to tell her to take the tablet. She didn’t want to take the tablet. She became very, very aggressive.”
On November 24, Klevi Pirjani called 999 shortly before midday to report that Miguel was unresponsive and not breathing. Miguel had vomited a number of times during the night before Pirjani called an ambulance, the court heard.
Mr Wright told the court: “He told the operator that Miguel just stopped breathing. Curiously, he referred to his son as it. It just stopped breathing. It is a matter for you to consider in due course as to whether this was a product of distress on his part, a language barrier or an unintended indication of his attitude towards Miguel.”
The prosecutor continued during his opening: “At the time of his passing, his mother was permitted to hold his hand. Whilst present, she was heard to say ‘I should have protected you’.”
Under interview, Nivalda Pirjani gave a prepared statement to detectives in which she described Klevi as being abusive and violent. She added that she did not blame her partner for Miguel’s injuries but said “she was frightened of him and feared what he may do”. She also went on to repeat her claim that her husband was the one responsible for looking after Miguel.
But Mr Wright said of this account: “We say her account is a fiction, calculated to conceal her own involvement in these events and to infer that any responsibility for the injuries sustained by Miguel and his death are the sole responsibility of her partner Klevi. We say they were in it together from the start.”
When he was questioned, Klevi Pirjani disputed Nivalda’s claims and said that no concerns had been raised during previous appointments with healthcare professionals. Pirjani also queried whether Miguel’s rib fractures could have been caused by resuscitation efforts.
Mr Wright added: “The evidence demonstrates that the injuries to Miguel’s ribs were of varying ages. Some had been inflicted in advance of the 24th of November. Any fractures later found were, in the opinion of the Home Office forensic pathologist, not consistent with CPR. Each of the injuries found, whether fatal or non-fatal, were, in his professional opinion, non-accidental in origin.
“We say that Miguel was systematically physically abused by his parents. They caused him really serious non-fatal injury with intent so to do. They caused or allowed his death.”
Both Klevi Pirjani and Nivalda Santos Pirjani deny murder and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, with the former having pleaded not guilty to the count of causing or allowing the death of a child.
The trial, before Mr Justice Baker, continues.
