A man who killed his 16-month-old daughter by snapping her spine in a "chilling and brutal attack" following months of abuse was told that he must spend at least 22 years in prison. Skip related content
James Howson, 25, of Nelson Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was given a life sentence at Leeds Crown Court for the murder of little Amy Howson by a judge who imposed a 22-year minimum term.
Amy's mother, Tina Hunt, was given a 12-month suspended sentence after admitting allowing the death of a child and child cruelty. Howson was found guilty of murder by a jury earlier this week.
Sentencing him, the judge, Mrs Justice Cox, recounted how the defendant placed his daughter over his knee or other object and broke her back at their home while he was looking after her. He then sat with her body until the morning.
The judge said: "This was, in my view, a chilling and brutal attack.
"The bone was completely dislocated, resulting in spinal shock, rapid unconsciousness - mercifully - and to death."
She went on: "The jury was satisfied, on the clearest of evidence, that it was you who deliberately inflicted truly horrific injuries upon your defenceless little daughter, Amy, from which she died within a few hours."
The judge also detailed the other occasions in the weeks leading up to the murder in December last year when Howson "cruelly and deliberately assaulted Amy", leaving her with multiple fractures to her arms and legs.
Howson showed no emotion as he was led from the dock.
The judge said to him: "I have not seen the slightest evidence of remorse from you for what you did."
source: Jail for dad who killed baby - Yahoo! News UK
James Howson, 25, of Nelson Road, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, was given a life sentence at Leeds Crown Court for the murder of little Amy Howson by a judge who imposed a 22-year minimum term.
Amy's mother, Tina Hunt, was given a 12-month suspended sentence after admitting allowing the death of a child and child cruelty. Howson was found guilty of murder by a jury earlier this week.
Sentencing him, the judge, Mrs Justice Cox, recounted how the defendant placed his daughter over his knee or other object and broke her back at their home while he was looking after her. He then sat with her body until the morning.
The judge said: "This was, in my view, a chilling and brutal attack.
"The bone was completely dislocated, resulting in spinal shock, rapid unconsciousness - mercifully - and to death."
She went on: "The jury was satisfied, on the clearest of evidence, that it was you who deliberately inflicted truly horrific injuries upon your defenceless little daughter, Amy, from which she died within a few hours."
The judge also detailed the other occasions in the weeks leading up to the murder in December last year when Howson "cruelly and deliberately assaulted Amy", leaving her with multiple fractures to her arms and legs.
Howson showed no emotion as he was led from the dock.
The judge said to him: "I have not seen the slightest evidence of remorse from you for what you did."
source: Jail for dad who killed baby - Yahoo! News UK
