Sally Howes QC and Suki Dhadda secure conviction for the manslaughter of a baby boy
The case concerned the death of a 3 1/2 month old baby boy who had been left in the care of the Defendant. Whilst in his care, the Defendant inflicted fatal injuries upon him and five days later he died in hospital of a severe head injury.
During the assault upon him, the baby sustained multiple injuries and clinical and pathological opinion concluded that there were three elements to the mechanism of the unlawful act. They were compression of the ribcage by gripping and squeezing which caused rib fractures, movement trauma which caused bilateral, thin-layered subdural haemorrhaging around the brain, spinal subdural haemorrhage and spinal nerve root axonal injury and severe blunt force impact which caused four separate sites of fracture to the right parietal skull bone.
The Defendant, who entered a guilty plea to unlawful act manslaughter, was a man of good character and was sentenced to a term of 7 1/2 years imprisonment.
Sally Howes QC led Suki Dhadda, they were instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service, Wessex.
Further details of the case can be found at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-48513940
https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/heartless-paul-rich-who-killed-16382596
