'Cannabis-addicted' stepfather, 27, is jailed for life after murdering toddler who called him 'daddy' in 'eruption of uncontrolled violence' which left girl, 2, with injuries so severe they were consistent with high speed car crash
A stepfather who killed a toddler during a 'spontaneous eruption of uncontrolled violence' has been jailed for life.
Two-year-old Grace Thorpe, who was encouraged to call Adam Jackson 'daddy', was rushed to hospital after police were called to a report of an injured child in New Marske, North Yorkshire, on November 10 last year.
A court heard that the infant suffered injuries so severe they were consistent with a high speed road accident. She was initially treated at James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, before she was flown to Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, where she died two days later.
Jackson, 27, of New Marske, admitted murder and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 16-and-a-half years at Teesside Crown Court.
The court heard that Jackson was in sole care of Grace at her mother's home when he hit her at least seven times, fracturing her skull, breaking her left leg and causing serious internal injuries.
Two-year-old Grace Thorpe (pictured) was rushed to hospital after police were called to a report of an injured child in New Marske, North Yorkshire, last year
Stepfather Adam Jackson (pictured), 27, of New Marske, has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 16-and-a-half years
Jackson waited 40 minutes before calling 999, but when he did he claimed Grace had fallen from her high chair, a story he stuck to until post-mortem evidence proved it was false.
Nick Dry, prosecuting, said: 'The findings of the experts ruled out accidental causation of her injuries and pointed clearly instead to their deliberate infliction.'
The prosecution said Grace was born in June 2018 and her mother, Alice Quine, split up from the little girl's father and moved in with her own mother.
She began a relationship with Jackson a year before the murder. Family and friends initially liked him, and he moved in with her after lockdown.
Mr Dry said Jackson would become bad-tempered if he did not have money for cannabis, which he used every day.
Hair samples from Grace showed she had been exposed to cannabis and cocaine and Ms Quine had previously asked him to leave the house before they got back together, the court heard.
She had gone to work on the day Jackson murdered Grace, Mr Dry said.
When emergency services arrived at the property they found the toddler injured, cold and wearing only a nappy.
Jackson claimed she had fallen from her high chair, saying it had a faulty strap.
Tests later found it was safe, and forensic experts found that Grace had breathed out blood on to the tray, showing she was sitting in the chair while she was attacked.
Grace's injuries - which took up four pages of a pathologist's report to catalogue - were 'unsurvivable', the court heard.
The injuries included a fractured skull consistent with being punched or kicked or slammed against a hard surface and a fractured left thighbone caused by a stamp or being forcefully bent again a hard surface.
Police outside the property in New Marske after ambulance crews and the air ambulance were called
She had a broken lower jaw most likely caused by a punch, forceful compression injuries to her chest and three separate severe abdominal injuries.
In a victim statement to the court, Ms Quine said Grace was 'the happiest little girl' who was 'always smiling'.
She said: 'My life hasn't been the same since the day I lost Grace and it never will be again. I lost everything in that moment.
'Grace's sister is not the same child she was before this happened. She adored Grace and done everything for her, they had the most amazing bond and love for each other.
'My Grace was the happiest little girl who never wanted for anything, she was always content and smiling, her laugh was infectious.
'There were so many things Grace loved to watch, to play with and to do; she always enjoyed playing outside and down the beach, she loved to splash.
'All these things I will never see Grace do again. I will never see her grow up, I will never see any more birthdays, her first day at school, first car, first anything anymore.
'Grace's memory will never be lost, it will always be kept alive and she will always be spoken about. Every birthday will be celebrated, every anniversary we will remember, every Christmas an empty chair will always be at the table because we know she will be there with us.
'Grace loved and trusted Adam Jackson and he abused that in every way possible. I trusted him with my whole world and he took it away from me in a split second.
'No matter what sentence is given it will never match up to the sentence me and my family will face for the rest of our lives.
'We will never be able to see or touch Grace again and that's the most heartbreaking thought there is to bear.'
And she asked the defendant, who had his head bowed in the dock, why he had not just handed over care of Grace to someone else that day.
She said: 'Nothing justifies the horrible things you have done to my baby, an innocent two-year-old, who would have woken up happy to see you, and you inflicted a brutal attack on her for no reason.'
Peter Makepeace QC, defending, said Jackson, who has no previous convictions, did not intend to kill Grace, saying it had been a 'spontaneous eruption of uncontrolled violence'.
Judge Howard Crowson said Jackson was guilty of a gross breach of trust.
Outside court, Detective Chief Inspector Peter Carr, said: 'Instead of looking after and caring for her, he assaulted her, causing her fatal injuries.
'When professionals questioned how Grace had sustained her injuries, Jackson lied.
No comments: