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24/10/2008
Father Jailed For Life For Snapping Baby's Spine
A man who murdered his baby daughter by snapping her spine has been sentenced to life imprisonment.
James Howson, 25, was told he would serve a minimum of 22 years in prison for the murder of his 16-month-old daughter Amy.
Amy's mother, Tina Hunt, 26, was given a 12-month suspended sentence, after she admitted allowing the death of a child, and child cruelty.
The jury at Leeds Crown Court heard unemployed Howson had been looking after the young child last Christmas, while her mother - who was 12 weeks pregnant at the time - was suffering from morning sickness.
Howson held his daughter over his knee and exerted so much pressure; he broke her back in two.
The court also heard Amy, had been slapped and punched in the months leading up to her death. When she died she had 40 injuries, including seven bone fractures from a series of assaults. She was also malnourished and dehydrated.
The 25-year-old admitted a charge of child cruelty by not seeking medical attention. However, he denied murder.
Sentencing Howson, the judge, Mrs Justice Cox, said: "This was, in my view, a chilling and brutal attack.
"The bone was completely dislocated, resulting in spinal shock, rapid unconsciousness - mercifully - and to death."
She continued: "The jury was satisfied, on the clearest of evidence, that it was you who deliberately inflicted truly horrific injuries upon your defenceless little daughter, Amy, from which she died within a few hours."
The jury of six men and six women took just three-and-a-half hours to convict Howson, who was also found guilty of child cruelty by assaulting Amy.
(JM)
James Howson, 25, was told he would serve a minimum of 22 years in prison for the murder of his 16-month-old daughter Amy.
Amy's mother, Tina Hunt, 26, was given a 12-month suspended sentence, after she admitted allowing the death of a child, and child cruelty.
The jury at Leeds Crown Court heard unemployed Howson had been looking after the young child last Christmas, while her mother - who was 12 weeks pregnant at the time - was suffering from morning sickness.
Howson held his daughter over his knee and exerted so much pressure; he broke her back in two.
The court also heard Amy, had been slapped and punched in the months leading up to her death. When she died she had 40 injuries, including seven bone fractures from a series of assaults. She was also malnourished and dehydrated.
The 25-year-old admitted a charge of child cruelty by not seeking medical attention. However, he denied murder.
Sentencing Howson, the judge, Mrs Justice Cox, said: "This was, in my view, a chilling and brutal attack.
"The bone was completely dislocated, resulting in spinal shock, rapid unconsciousness - mercifully - and to death."
She continued: "The jury was satisfied, on the clearest of evidence, that it was you who deliberately inflicted truly horrific injuries upon your defenceless little daughter, Amy, from which she died within a few hours."
The jury of six men and six women took just three-and-a-half hours to convict Howson, who was also found guilty of child cruelty by assaulting Amy.
(JM)
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