THE father of a girl who died nearly 14 years after she was left with “unspeakable injuries” as a baby has been jailed for three and a half years.
Maisie Newell was just four weeks old when she suffered severe head injuries as a result of a brutal assault by father Dean Smith in August 2000.
She was left with life-changing injuries and was cared for by adoptive parents until she eventually died at home with them on June 28, 2014 – just before her 14th birthday.
Smith, 46, now of Bushey, Watford, Hertfordshire, had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but was cleared of her murder following a trial at the Old Bailey in September.
Giving evidence, the disgraced Dad described himself as a "lowlife scumbag".
He admitted throwing his daughter ”four to five feet” across a bedroom before smoking a cigarette and necking a beer at a flat in Edgware, North West London.
He told jurors he had asked his partner not to go out on the day of the incident because he was feeling "anxious" and "on edge", and did not want to be left with a "screaming baby".
Initially, Smith kept quiet about what happened but, after telling his partner, they concocted a lie, claiming Maisie's 18-month-old brother had dragged her into the bathroom and dropped her on the floor.
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Jailing Smith, Judge Mark Lucraft QC said one of the aggravating features of the case was the lies that Smith and his then-partner Amanda Lee told about what happened to the baby girl.
And learning of his daughter’s passing some 14 years later, the jailed father said he "broke down".
He told jurors: "I think I'm a lowlife scumbag. I cannot believe I did it. I'm disgusted in myself. I wish it was me, not her."
In a victim impact statement later read to court, Tracey Newell, who adopted Maisie aged 20 months, said she “could never escape the consequences of what had happened to her.”
She said: “The damage to her brain was catastrophic, irreversible and life-changing.
“Her life was a struggle, dominated by the disabilities she had as a consequence of the assault she sustained.
"But Maisie always had the ability to draw people to her, she was like sunshine, radiant and bright."
"Whilst her body was so damaged, her soul remained intact."
Mrs Newell added that the family was “pleased her story has finally been heard in court.”
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