‘Uncaring’ mum who killed tot with boyfriend in sick attack jailed for 15 years

An "indifferent" mother who delicate her three-year-old daughter after a torrent of abuse has been incarcerated for 15 years.

Kaylee-Jayde Priest was tragically found dead in an apartment, where she lived with her mother Nicola Priest, in August 2020.

The Crown Court in Birmingham I heard how 23-year-old Priest called his daughter 'dog' and 'rat', and days before the incident he had threatened to kill the until.

The Mirror reports that Priest had also sent her 22-year-old boyfriend Callum Redfern a text message saying that he had beaten the young woman for "shitting in her diaper."

Redfern was today imprisoned for 14 years for his involvement in the child's death.

Priest received 15 years for manslaughter and a simultaneous three-year term for one count of child cruelty.

Jurors burst into tears when they learned of the 68 injuries pathologists found on little Kaylee's body, including broken ribs, lower leg fractures and a broken sternum.

The injuries were inflicted on August 8 of last year while Redfern was visiting Priest with a friend.

He left the property that night and when Priest checked on his daughter in the morning, he found her "stiff" and not moving.

Experts told the Birmingham Crown Court that the baby likely died around midnight, but could have been saved if he had received immediate medical attention.

He died of serious injuries to his chest and abdomen after a 'fierce assault' at his home in Solihull, where the baby lived in a bedroom without a light bulb, curtains and a suitable carpet.

By the time Mom called 999, Kaylee had already been dead for several hours.

Later, medical examinations showed that he had also suffered historical injuries, such as broken ribs, lower leg fractures and a broken sternum, the court heard.

Priest and Redfern, who were in a "close sexual relationship", blamed each other for her death.

Both were convicted of manslaughter Thursday, although they were acquitted of murder.

Priest, who was seen ignoring his daughter in Closed TV circuit A few hours before the murder, he was also found guilty of cruelty to a child, while Redfern was acquitted of the same charge.

Jurors had heard Priest punch Kaylee on the head and refer to her as a "bloody brat", while the young woman was also heard crying "in a tone of fear."

On one occasion, downstairs neighbors at Kingshurst House, Solihull, recalled hearing a bang upstairs and then Kaylee crying, before supposedly hearing Priest say, "I'll just say he fell out of bed."

The same residents said they noticed that "when Kaylee cried, the response seemed to be to drown her crying with music."

In a text message exchange on July 24, 2020, days before Kaylee's death, Priest told Redfern: "I'm going to kill her ... because she keeps leaving the living room or going to the kitchen, so I blanched (hit) her and slapped her for shitting her diaper. "

Redfern replied, "Okay, give him one of me."

Priest replied, "I will, babe."

Three days later, Redfern texted Priest saying, "I'm going to keep the little brat away from me ... sick of your brave daughter."

From the moment Priest moved into the apartment in mid-2019, neighbors heard her "yelling with real regularity" at Kaylee, including comments like "Shut up", "Go away" or "Leave me alone" and "never anything positive" . or kind ”.

In CCTV played on the court, Kaylee-Jayde and her mother were seen together, just hours before the young woman's fatal collapse, using an elevator in the apartment block where they lived.

The images showed Priest's complete disinterest in his daughter; repeatedly checking her reflection in the mirror and flipping through her phone, while the young woman periodically looked at her mother's face.

At no point in the footage was there any physical contact between the couple, and Priest refused to even reach out to take his daughter's hand.

Andrew Smith QC, the prosecutor, said at Friday's hearing that there was a "history of violence" towards Kaylee, who went through "significant suffering and mind."

He said: "This was a sustained assault with repeated blows to the vulnerable parts of a young child's body."

“It is the cumulative effect and the repetition of blows.

"With regard to child cruelty, Priest can be sentenced as the person who caused Kaylee's previous injuries.

"Kaylee was the subject of prolonged and multiple incidents of cruelty, involving very significant force.

"There must have been a deliberate disregard for the welfare of the victim."

Now it has emerged that Priest's own mother, Debbie Windmill, previously reported her daughter to social services.

It is unclear whether any action was taken, even though witnesses said Solihull's apartment they lived in was "dirty."

Wendy Bounds, a lawyer for the West Midlands Crown Prosecution, who oversaw the CPS case, said of Ms Windmill: "She was trying to alert them to the fact that her daughter had this son, who had run away from home and I think she was worried about her. " .

"They went out and checked and everything seemed fine," he told anyone who came to the floor he was redecorating.

"She got possession of the flat with the father of the second baby and then that relationship ended and she stayed there."

It is not yet clear which authority Debbie Windmill contacted with concerns about her granddaughter.

The Mirror has contacted the social services of Solihull and Birmingham for comment.

The Dudley and Sandwell boards said they were not involved with Kaylee.

In a victim impact statement, Ms. Windmill said: "The impact of Kaylee's death will live on with me and the rest of her family for the rest of our lives."

In sentencing, Judge Foxton QC told Priest: "The confinement made life more challenging. I accept that you were easily led, particularly by Redfern, with whom you had a crush.

"You and Redfern were equally responsible. You had many opportunities to raise any concerns. Kaylee was very vulnerable and you were in a position of trust. You did nothing to ask for help."

He accepted that she had poor decision making and had a tendency to make poor decisions.

"I take into account that the loss of his daughter has caused him genuine pain. He has shown some degree of remorse."

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