Father who shook baby daughter to death has murder sentence increased

"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."

"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."

Thomas Holford received a life sentence with a 16-year minimum after conviction for killing his daughter, Everleigh Stroud, by shaking her so violently she suffered brain injuries. Everleigh was five weeks old when left in his sole care on the night of April 20, 2021, at her grandparents' home in Ramsgate, Kent. She suffered brain and bone injuries and spent over a year in hospital before dying aged 14 months on May 27, 2022. The Solicitor General referred the sentence as unduly lenient and the Court of Appeal increased the minimum term by two years, citing heavy cannabis intoxication as an aggravating factor.

Read at www.independent.co.uk