A father is facing a prison sentence after being found guilty of murdering his baby daughter, who suffered “catastrophic” brain injuries from severe shaking.
Thomas Holford, 25, was convicted of the murder of Everleigh Stroud, who tragically died at the age of one. The court heard she sustained “excessive and severe” brain and bone injuries when she was just five weeks old.
Everleigh was rushed to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital (QEQM) in Margate, Kent, on the morning of April 21, 2021, after her grandmother reported she was “only just” breathing.
While his baby was rushed to hospital, Holford showed “little emotion” and continued to download and play games on his phone, jurors heard.
He later lied to police about his cannabis use to disguise the fact that he had been smoking the night before when he was looking after Everleigh alone.
While giving evidence, Holford told jurors he had at least five joints on April 20 2021, before being left in charge of Everleigh that evening. On that day, he was smoking more than usual because it was “420” which he agreed was a “big day for cannabis smokers”, the court heard.
On Thursday, Holford, of Ramsgate, was found unanimously guilty of murder and actual bodily harm of his daughter by a Canterbury Crown Court jury.
Along with brain injuries that left her in a vegetative state, she also had bone fractures, bruising to her face, atrophy to her eyes leading to her going blind and injuries to her anus having spent the night before in her father’s care, the court heard.
Everleigh, who was born on March 13 2021, spent more than a year in a vegetative state before she died at 14 months on May 27 2022.
Prosecuting, Eloise Marshall KC said: “On the night of April 20 into the early morning of April 21 2021, when Everleigh was just over five weeks old, she suffered catastrophic injuries which caused substantial brain damage, and that resulted in her death just over a year later,
“There is no dispute as to how Everleigh came to suffer those injuries, they were inflicted by her father, Thomas Holford.”
She added: “It is the Crown’s case that all those injuries were deliberately caused by Thomas Holford, they were what we call non-accidental, members of the jury.”
When police arrived at his address in Wallwood Road, Ramsgate, where Holford, then 20, lived with his then 16-year-old girlfriend and her parents, they discovered a cannabis grinder and joint butts next to a milk bottle in his bedroom.
Police attending the scene remarked that Holford appeared to be in a “good mood” as he played games on his phone while his baby was rushed to hospital.
“While speaking with Pc Smith, Thomas Holford continued to show little emotion,” said Ms Marshall.
He told police that he had not smoked cannabis since 10am the previous morning, which he has now accepted was a lie.
Ms Marshall KC asked: “When the police asked you what you’d smoked, you lied?”
“Yes,” Holford replied.
Asked why, he added: “I’m trying to project an image of something that is better than reality.”
Text messages shown to jurors also suggest that he tried to buy weed from a contact known as “Milo” because he knew he was looking after his daughter.
He sent a text which read: “Could you strap me anything, as I’ve got the little one on my own tonight. Going to be f****** stressful.”
Holford also admitted he had “manipulated” his girlfriend’s family into taking care of his cannabis for him and allowing him to smoke it.
While in the witness box, he often answered questions to the effect of being unsure or not remembering what had happened.
“When it suits you, you have a memory – and when it doesn’t suit you, you pretend you don’t have a memory,” said Ms Marshall.
Holford, who admitted manslaughter of Everleigh last year, will be sentenced for murder and actual bodily harm on July 4.
