Man, 31, is found guilty of murdering his girlfriend’s 12-week-old son after baby suffered ‘catalogue’ of injuries including fractured skull and bleed to the brain
- Kane Mitchell inflicted violence on Teddie in November 2019 in Cambridgeshire
- Mother Lucci Smith, 29, was also found guilty of neglect after four-week trial
- But she was acquitted on charges of causing or allowing death and serious injury
- Mitchell and Smith will be sentenced on February 5 at Cambridge Crown Court
A four-week trial at Cambridge Crown Court heard that Teddie, pictured, had suffered injuries consistent with being ‘gripped hard’, ‘shaken vigorously’, and ‘having his head struck against a hard surface’
A ‘violent man’ has been found guilty of murdering his girlfriend’s 12-week-old son after the baby was found with a ‘catalogue’ of injuries, including a fractured skull and a bleed to the brain.
Kane Mitchell, 31, inflicted violence on poor baby Teddie, who died in hospital on November 11, 2019, after ten days on a life support machine.
A four-week trial at Cambridge Crown Court heard that Teddie had suffered injuries consistent with being ‘gripped hard’, ‘shaken vigorously’, and ‘having his head struck against a hard surface’.
Mitchell, who lived with Teddie’s mother Lucci Smith in St Neots, Cambs., was yesterday found guilty of murder, after a jury ruled he had inflicted the fatal injuries.
Smith, 29, was also found guilty by the jury of neglect – but was acquitted on charges of causing or allowing death and serious injury.
Cambridge Crown Court heard Mitchell and Smith had been in a relationship for about eight months and had lived together with baby Teddie.
At 3pm on November 1, 2019, the ambulance service was called to Pattison Court, St Neots, where Teddie was found to be unresponsive and in cardiac arrest.
Smith had left Teddie in the care of Mitchell that day while she did the morning school run.
When she returned, she noticed the tot seemed lethargic and wouldn’t take his bottle.
She later contacted a GP after Teddie’s condition deteriorated.
They advised her to call 999 but she waited about half an hour before calling them.
Kane Mitchell, who lived with Teddie’s mother Lucci Smith in St Neots, Cambs., was yesterday found guilty of murder, after a jury ruled he had inflicted the fatal injuries
Teddie was rushed to the Special Care Baby Unit at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon, where doctors discovered he had a fractured skull and a significant bleed on the brain.
Officers and medical staff were concerned about how Teddie received his injuries and Mitchell and Smith were both arrested at the hospital.
Teddie was later transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge for a specialist neurology assessment and placed in intensive care on life support, where doctors concluded he would not recover.
Medical staff kept Teddie stable on a life support machine, however, after ten days, a decision was made to withdraw the life support and Teddie passed away shortly after.
A post mortem revealed he died as a result of his fractured skull and lack of oxygen to the brain.
During the trial, the jury were read statements from neighbours who said they had heard arguments coming from the address on a regular basis and that the household had been unsettled since Mitchell moved in.
During police interview, Mitchell said he believed he was Teddie’s biological father.
However, DNA results following the death revealed he was not.
He could not explain how Teddie came to suffer his fatal injuries.
During police interview, Smith claimed she and Mitchell were in a loving relationship and they rarely argued.
Lucci Smith, 29, was also found guilty by the jury of neglect – but was acquitted on charges of causing or allowing death and serious injury
She also couldn’t explain how Teddie came to have his fatal injuries.
The jury deliberated for two days following the four-week trial before reaching a verdict.
Mitchell and Smith will be sentenced on February 5 at Cambridge Crown Court.
Detective Inspector Lucy Thomson, from the Beds Cambs and Herts Major Crime Unit, said: ‘This is a tragic and terrible case in which an 11-week-old baby lost his life at the hands of a person who should have been there to protect him.
‘Our investigation found that Teddie had suffered multiple injuries during his short life which neither Mitchell or Smith could account for.
‘The verdict won’t bring Teddie back, but it does bring some justice for what he endured.’
Source: Read Full Article