Yesterday (14th Jan), a male was found guilty of murdering a defenceless 11-week-old baby boy who had suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured skull and a bleed to the brain.
Child killer Kane Mitchell, 31, of no fixed address but formerly of St Neots, inflicted multiple injuries on the baby, Teddie Mitchell, which led to his death in hospital on the 11th November 2019.
Teddie’s mother, 29-year-old Lucci Smith, of Pattison Court, St Neots, was acquitted on charges of causing or allowing death and serious injury, but was found guilty of neglect.
During a four-week trial, the court heard horrific details of how baby Teddie had suffered weeks of neglect and rough handling during his short life.
Cambridge Crown Court heard how Mitchell and Smith had been in a relationship for about eight months and had lived together with baby Teddie.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary said that on 1st November 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 while she did the morning school run. When she returned, she noticed he 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.
Police said 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 rushed 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 from his serious injuries.
Teddie was kept stable on a life support machine.
However, after 11 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.
When interviewed by the police, 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 Smith’s police interview, she claimed she and Mitchell were in a ‘loving’ relationship and they ‘rarely argued’. She also couldn’t explain how Teddie came to have his fatal injuries.
Prosecutor Karim Khalil QC had told the court Teddie was “subjected to a violent assault” in the flat on 1st November 2019 and that he died 10 days later.
“He received fatal injuries as a result of being gripped hard, shaken vigorously and having his head struck against a hard surface,” said Mr Khalil.
Jurors were told Teddie suffered rib fractures, fractures to his collarbone and a fractured skull, and died from serious brain injuries.
The injuries suffered “would have led to Teddie screaming in pain… up to a point when he would have become unconscious”, the court heard.
The jury deliberated for two days before reaching a verdict.
Mitchell and Smith are due to be sentenced on 5th February 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.”
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I sincerely hope that Mitchell suffers in prison for this despicable crime against an innocent child. Suffers slowly and for a long time……….