Father who shook baby daughter to death has murder sentence increased

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A father who was jailed for murdering his baby daughter by shaking her has had his sentence increased.

Thomas Holford was jailed for life with a minimum term of 16 years at Canterbury Crown Court in July after being convicted of killing his daughter, Everleigh Stroud, when he shook her so hard that she suffered brain injuries.

Everleigh, aged five weeks old, had been left alone in her father’s care on the night of April 20, 2021, when Holford shook her with “excessive and severe” force.

The incident, which took place at her grandparents’ home in Ramsgate, Kent, left Everleigh with brain and bone injuries.

She spent more than a year in hospital before dying on May 27, 2022, aged 14 months.

The Solicitor General, Ellie Reeves, referred Holford’s sentence to the Court of Appeal in September as “unduly lenient”.

On Tuesday, barristers told a hearing that aggravating features in the case “significantly outweighed the available mitigation”, including that Holford was “heavily intoxicated with cannabis” at the time of the fatal attack on Everleigh.

In a ruling at the Court of Appeal, three senior judges agreed and increased the minimum term of Holford’s sentence by two years.

Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Sheldon and Mr Justice Calver, said: “He was aware that if he took substantial quantities of cannabis, his ability to control himself may suffer.

“He nevertheless deliberately did that, knowing that in the night to come, he was to be the sole carer for his five-week-old daughter.”

He continued: “As matters turned out, he was therefore taking risks with her life that he had no right to take. That is a significant aggravating factor.”

Jocelyn Ledward KC, for the Solicitor General, said in written submissions that Holford, who is now 25 and was 20 at the time he attacked Everleigh, had been a regular cannabis user.

He had been seen handling his daughter “gently and confidently” in the first weeks of her life, and had previously cared for her alone overnight without incident.

On the night of April 20 2021, Everleigh’s mother was visiting friends, leaving her in Holford’s sole care.

He said in text messages that he would find looking after Everleigh “stressful” and smoked cannabis on the night she was attacked.

Everleigh’s mother then returned home the next morning and discovered her seriously injured and called the emergency services.

Holford appeared “not unduly concerned” and continued to download and play games on his phone while Everleigh was being cared for, Ms Ledward said.

Everleigh suffered brain injuries, bone fractures, bruising to her face and atrophy to her eyes, causing her to go blind.

Ms Ledward told the court that Holford’s lack of previous convictions and previous good care for his daughter was “tempered” by his “voluntary and excessive” use of cannabis.

She said: “In the result, the minimum term imposed was not just lenient, but outside the range that was available to the learned judge in this case, and thus unduly lenient.”

Joanna Martin KC, for Holford, said in court: “My Lords will be unsurprised when I say the judge got it right.

“While it may be a lenient sentence, it is not an unduly lenient sentence.”

Increasing Holford’s minimum term, Lord Justice Edis said Everleigh was “as vulnerable as any human person could be” and that Holford had injured her “grievously”.

He said: “Everleigh’s mother bitterly regrets her decision to leave the child in the offender’s care that night and blames herself for what happened.

“In truth, the decision to leave the child with her father in the circumstances was a perfectly normal, rational decision.

“It was tragic; it has caused her to feel as she does, responsible in some way for her daughter’s death.

“The responsibility for that death lies squarely with the offender, and nobody else.”

Holford watched proceedings remotely from HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire and showed no emotion as his sentence was increased.

Solicitor General Ellie Reeves said: “This is a horrific and upsetting case. Thomas Holford was meant to be caring for his daughter, who was only five weeks old, but instead he consumed excessive amounts of drugs before violently attacking her.

“Everleigh must have suffered immensely, and those severe injuries eventually led to her untimely death a year later.

“Everleigh had her whole life ahead of her and there are no words that will bring comfort to those who loved and cherished her.

“I wish to offer my deepest sympathies and welcome the court’s decision to keep this dangerous man in prison for longer following his harrowing crimes.”