Father guilty of murdering baby daughter

A man has been found guilty of murdering his five-week-old baby daughter, who died of a catastrophic brain injury after suffering more than 40 rib fractures during repeated assaults.

Sean Jefferson, 35, was convicted of killing Darcy-Leigh Jefferson, who died in hospital on 29 March 2022, two days after suffering the brain injury at her home in in Burntwood, Staffordshire.

Her mother, Amy Leigh Clark, 34, was found guilty of causing or allowing her death.

The couple had denied multiple charges over the death of Darcy-Leigh, but were found guilty by a jury at Stafford Crown Court on Monday.

Jefferson, of Birch Court, Walsall, was also found guilty of two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Clark, from Lichfield, in Staffordshire, was also found guilty of two counts of causing or allowing serious harm to a child, but cleared of two further charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Charges of murder or manslaughter against her were dropped by prosecutors last week, during the seven-week trial.

Jefferson, who wore a grey tracksuit and blue Adidas jacket, shook his head in the dock as the jury of eight women and four men returned their unanimous verdicts.

Clark, who wore a green jumper, black trousers and a beige coat, put her hand to her face.

The trial heard Darcy-Leigh, who was born five-weeks premature, had been "physically assaulted on a repeated basis" and had a total of 47 rib fractures when she suffered the fatal brain injury on 27 March.

The jury was told Clark was struggling in the run up to her death and that she had engaged in a number of heated exchanges with Jefferson.

These included text messages about how she was exhausted and felt he was not supporting her.

He responded with a message threatening to "put you 6ft underground" if she killed her baby through drinking.

Prosecution barrister Harpreet Sandhu KC told the court Darcy-Leigh's head injury had been caused by being shaken violently or having her head struck against a surface.

In his closing speech, he said: "He put a stop to Darcy screaming. He did that by shaking his five-week-old daughter violently.

"As a result, his five-week-old daughter sustained a catastrophic head injury and she would have stopped breathing almost as soon as she received that fatal head injury."

Sandhu told the jury Clark had been living at a "tidy and well-presented" home and gave the impression of being a mother who was in control while hiding the fact she "drank a lot of alcohol and she took cocaine".

He said: "The impression Amy Clark gave hid the truth.

"Beneath the veneer of the well-presented and ordered life she wanted others to believe she led, was a more chaotic existence which flowed, no doubt, from her alcohol and drug use."

Both parents were taking drugs during their daughter's short life, the trial was told.

Jefferson and Clark opted not to give evidence in their defence during the trial.

Sandu said: "They have remained silent because they each bear some responsibility for the events that led to their daughter suffering injuries and their daughter being killed.

Following the verdicts, the Staffordshire councillor responsible for child services, Nick Lakin, said a council review of the case would be "published in due course".

He said changes had been made "quickly" following Darcy-Leigh's death, but accepted "more could, and should, have been done by those who had the opportunity to intervene while Darcy-Leigh was alive".

He apologised for "the failure to act decisively in 2022".

The judge, Mrs Justice Brunner KC, said Jefferson and Clark would be sentenced on a date to be fixed.

The judge told the jury: "Thank you for carrying out your jury work with such dedication. I have seen how hard each of you has concentrated and how seriously you have taken this very difficult work.

"I know this can't have been easy for any of you but you have done a very important public duty."

Det Ch Insp Ian Fitzgerald from Staffordshire Police, said it had been a "profoundly distressing case".

He said Darcy-Leigh had been "violently abused and murdered by her father" and her mother had allowed her death.

"These were the people who should have loved and cared for her.

"It was despicable behaviour against a defenceless child."

Additional reporting from PA Media

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