LEGAL discussions will be heard today before judges give the reasons behind overturning a murder conviction after a toddler's death.

Kimberley Hainey, 38, was yesterday told her conviction for murdering son Declan in Paisley in 2010 had been quashed.

The mummified body of Declan Hainey – who would have been aged five this week – was found in a squalid flat in Bruce Road in 2010.

By the time doctors were able to examine the body, it was impossible to tell how he died.

Hainey was found guil- ty of murder and jailed for life in January 2012.

She was also convicted of trying to pervert the course of justice by keeping his body hidden.

No grounds of appeal have been put forward on that charge.

Hainey came to the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh in Jan- uary seeking to overturn the murder conviction, for which she given 15 years.

Defence QC Edward Targowski QC said crucial evidence heard by the jury was flawed. The lawyer questioned the claims of expert witnesses who said that tell-tale marks on his bones were signs of malnutrition.

The murder charge alleged heroin addict Hainey had abandoned her son for long periods of time without food or drink while she partied, drank and took drugs.

On quashing the conviction, Judge Lord Clarke said yesterday that during the appeal judges' consideration of the question, issues had arisen which had not been discussed during January's hearing.

For that reason, the appeal court will hear from lawyers today before the judges say why they have overturned the murder conviction.

The jury at her trial at the High Court in Glas- gow rejected Hainey's claim that she had woken one morning to find Declan dead in his cot and had not reported the tragedy because, as defence QC Edward Targowski explained, she "went into a downward spiral".

By the time Declan's body was found in March 2010 he had not been seen alive for eight months.

The death prompted a Significant Case Reveiw which made 16 recommendations for improvements in social work and health care practice.