A father who murdered his month-old baby son – who died after suffering a “snapped neck” – has been sentenced to life in prison.
Ollie Davis was found lifeless in his crib in the bedroom he shared with his parents in Leicester in October 2017 with more than 20 broken ribs and fractures to his skull, collar bone, both arms and the joints of all his limbs.
Michael Davis, 29, was found guilty of his murder and two counts of grievous bodily harm last month, while the baby’s mother Kayleigh Driver, 31, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child and causing or allowing serious physical injury.
The pair were found guilty after a two-month trial which heard Ollie’s “neck was snapped between four and eight days prior to his death”.
Davis was given a life sentence with a minimum term of 22 years today, as the judge said the murder had involved a “devastating” fatal spinal injury and other injuries usually seen after a “high-energy car crash”.
Mr Justice Cotter said he was sure Davis had inflicted all of the injuries during four overnight “episodes” of violence and had shown “callous indifference” to Ollie’s suffering by not seeking medical help.
‘You assaulted him on multiple occasions’
“I have no doubt that during the night you became frustrated and angry and this led to terrible violence,” the judge told him.
“You assaulted him on multiple occasions. The attacks in their various forms were also brutal – in particular the fatal neck injury.”
Driver, who was cleared by a jury of murder and causing grievous bodily harm, was jailed for seven years as she appeared for sentence on a mobility scooter due to a chronic neurological condition.
The judge told her: “You must have heard Ollie’s cries after he was assaulted, as you were together in the bedroom. This must have woken you up.”
Abuse left baby with broken bones and brain injury
Prosecutor John Hankin KC told the jury: “Ollie could not have caused the injuries to himself – he was a five-week-old pre-mobile baby.
“A broken neck was not the only injury Ollie sustained. Medical investigation revealed Ollie had sustained a total of 37 fractures.
“They included fractures to the skull, his collar bone, both arms between the shoulder and the elbow, 23 rib fractures and fractures to the joints of all four limbs.
“He also suffered brain injuries, bleeding over the surface of the brain.”
Mr Hankin said Ollie was subjected to serious physical abuse “most likely to have taken place during the last 10 days of his life”.
Davis couldn’t explain Ollie’s injuries, telling police he was “quite shocked” and that his son had “seemed fine” when he fell asleep.
‘Our little ray of sunshine’
After Davis and Driver were found guilty, Ollie’s wider family paid tribute to “our little ray of sunshine” in a statement.
“You melted our hearts with those big blue eyes,” they said. “We have been left with such a void in our hearts.”
Following the sentencing hearing, they told how they had “been dragged through hell for the last seven years with all the lies and deceit”.
They said they had first thought Ollie had died from a cot death but were “horrified” to find out there were suspicious circumstances and the arrest of his parents “shook the family to the core”.
“Ollie was perfect in every way when he was born,” the family said in a statement read by Detective Inspector Natasha Batstone outside court.
“He had been beaten badly over time and was left to die with his injuries.
“This was our worst nightmare. How anybody could hurt a beautiful baby was beyond words.
“We felt sick to our stomachs and we have shed many a tear thinking what Ollie went through in his final days.
“This has changed our family forever and we suffer mentally with these evil actions.”
‘Let down in the most horrendous ways’
Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Mark Parish added: “Ollie was a newborn baby who relied on his parents for everything he needed and it was their duty to love and protect him.
“Instead, he was let down in the most horrendous ways imaginable.
“Due to the amount of the injuries Ollie suffered and medical expertise needed to examine those injuries, it has taken more than six years for this investigation to come to court and for Ollie’s parents to be held accountable for his death.”
