Get the stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter. Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

GRIEVING mum Anne-Marie White yesterday defended her boyfriend as she mourned her toddler daughter.

Kevin Park, 26, was reportedly home alone with two-year-old Madison Horn when paramedics were called.

And as police continue to investigate the tot’s death, 21-year-old Anne-Marie hit out at rumours which have started to circulate in her home town of Kelty, Fife.

She insisted that Kevin, who only recently moved in with her, would never have done anything to harm Madison.

Neighbours told yesterday how a medic ran from Anne-Marie’s ground-floor flat to a waiting ambulance with the little girl’s lifeless body in his arms on Sunday evening.

They described how Kevin was led from the ground-floor flat by detectives and driven away in a police car.

A police spokesman confirmed they were treating the incident as “suspicious” and said they had detained a 26-year-old man.

Last night, Anne-Marie, who was elsewhere when tragedy struck, took to Facebook to pay tribute to her daughter and defend her boyfriend.

She said: “Well I suppose everyone knows I lost my precious little girl last night and I know what everyone is saying, especially about Kevin.

“I just want to say that he would never hurt her. This was just an accident. It would have happened if I was in the house. He’s not a bad person.”

She added: “He wouldn’t let anything happen to his own kids so I’m pretty certain that he wouldn’t hurt Madison.

“He loves her to bits. He will miss her.”

Neighbour Catherine Pryde spoke warmly last night of Madison, who had recently been accepted into a local nursery.

She said: “Madison was a beautiful little girl, like an angel.

“She was a very happy wee soul and often played out the back of the house in the garden. You’d always see her and her lovely blonde hair. You couldn’t miss her.”

She described the moment the youngster was carried from the flat, saying: “When I heard the sirens, I came out into the street and saw police and ambulances.

“After a while, one of the paramedics ran from the house with Madison in his arms.

“She was still and lifeless and her arm was hanging down limp. It was really horrible and you could tell it was very serious by the way the paramedics were rushing.

“I then saw Anne-Marie’s boyfriend coming out of the house with some police officers.”

Catherine said Anne-Marie began a relationship with Kevin in November last year and he had only recently moved in.

Tributes, including a doll, a teddy and some flowers, were left outside the family home yesterday as a policeman stood guard by the front door.

One neighbour placed a doll on the front fence with a note which read: “Heaven has gained another angel. Rest in peace little one xxxxx”

Local MP and former PM Gordon Brown and local MSP Alex Rowley issued a joint statement describing the close-knit area’s sadness at the tragedy.

And poignant online tributes flooded in for Madison.

One friend, Candice Henderson, urged Anne-Marie to “stay strong”, adding: “Stunning little angel be strong for her hun, shine bright Madison xxx.”

Another friend, Mary Adamson, posted: “My heart breaks for you all xxx.”

A third friend, Chelsea Walker, simply said: “So sorry for you. You lost such a beautiful wee girl. RIP little one xx.”

A tribute was also posted by Gemma Brown, who remembered being in the same hospital as Anne-Marie when she gave birth to Madison in 2011.

(Image: George McLuskie)

Another neighbour, James Sinclair, 63, said: “We used to see them going down to the shops and they were always very happy looking with the little girl toddling behind her mum.

“I’ve lived here for 16 years and it’s just very sad because it’s a quiet neighbourhood where people meet for barbecues.

"It used to be a pretty wild area but it’s been very quiet for some time now. It’s just a terrible shame that this has happened.”

Neighbour Daryl Anderson, 30, said: “The ambulance blocked off part of the street so cars couldn’t get through.

“When the medics took the wee girl out of the house, she was blue and looked completely limp. She was still wearing her pyjamas.

“Walking past the flowers outside the house this morning made the hairs on my arms stand on end. My wee girl was up at five this morning talking about the little girl.”

Anne-Marie described local man Steven Horn as Madison’s “daddy” on Facebook, alongside photographs of the three together.

Last night, a female relative at Steven’s home in Cowdenbeath refused to comment.

The mother of his current girlfriend, who also lives in Kelty, also declined to talk about the tragedy. There was no answer at the home of Steven’s dad, Iain.

Anne-Marie moved to the address in Croftangry Road with her mother, Mary Coutts, about two years ago.

The pair used to live in a first-floor flat in nearby Burnside Place.

A former neighbour there said: “Mary and Anne-Marie were very nice neighbours.

“When everyone heard that she’d had a baby they were very happy for her.

“She was really proud of her daughter and was always putting up loads of pictures on Facebook. It’s a total tragedy.”

A police spokeswoman confirmed they are following a positive line of inquiry and said: “Inquiries are at an early stage but police are treating her death as suspicious.”

Anne-Marie is a former pupil of Beath High School in Cowdenbeath. She studied hairdressing at Adam Smith College and worked at local salon Guys & Dolls before leaving work to bring up Madison.