They could hardly have anticipated that Woodward's time with them would result in the young nanny being tried for their son's murder.

Family life

Mr and Mrs Eappen seemed to many to be the model American couple. Educated, hard-working and ambitious, they pursued successful professional lives as well as bringing up their young children.

They met as first-year medical students in Chicago. They married seven years later, when they were financially independent of their parents, who did not approve of the interracial marriage: Sunil Eappen is the son of Indian immigrants, Deborah Eappen is white.

Both excelled during their early years of medicine, he opted for anaesthesia and she opthalmology. They were keen to start a family. Their first child, Brendan, was two when Matthew was born, by which time they had set up home in the Boston suburb of Newton.

Hiring Woodward

The Eappens had been impressed by Woodward

With Sunil Eappen working full-time and Deborah Eappen working part-time, they hired au pairs to look after the children.

In November 1996, Woodward came to live with the Eappens, with good recommendations. Before long, Mrs Eappen complained to Woodward for staying out late during the week, which she believed was affecting Woodward's behaviour with the children through the day.

Matthew's final days

The couple were both at work on February 4, 1996, the day Matthew died, when Woodward was alone at home with the child. What happened in the family house was, of course, later the subject of much argument. But whatever did occur, a panicking Woodward called both Matthew's parents, but neither answered their pagers.

Baby Matthew in hospital

The next time the couple saw their son, he was in hospital in a coma as a result of a serious head injury. Speaking later in court, Sunil Eappen described how he, his wife and their parents lit candles and played children's music to Matthew during his final hours. They each took turns to hold him until they turned off the respirator, and Matthew died in his father's arms.

The court of public opinion

In the subsequent court case, the personalities and private lives of both Woodward and the Eappens came under close scrutiny.

Mrs Eappen's role as a working mother was put in the spotlight

As Woodward gave reports in court of domestic life with the Eappens, the public and the media began to create a picture of the Eappens which varied greatly from their initial image.

Woodward told the court that Deborah Eappen would hand Matthew to her in the mornings with a soaking wet nappy, and that she was expected work long hours, sometimes late into the evening.

The Eappens also became the centre of a moral debate concerning working parents and their choice of childcare. Deborah Eappen came under criticism in the media for leaving two young children with someone who was not a qualified nanny. She also received hate mail.

The Eappens appeared on national television in America days before the verdict against Woodward was announced, they said in an effort to counteract these allegations being made against them. Some criticised them for this, however, and British observers of the case were furious that they were being allowed to do something which British contempt of court laws would strictly forbid.

Medical evidence was produced by the defence showing that at the time of his death, Matthew had a fractured wrist. The evidence established that this injury had happened at least three weeks before he died, but had gone unnoticed by his parents. This evidence was used by some who attempted to discredit them as both parents and doctors.