The father of an eight-month-old girl who was brutally bashed by her mother has spoken of the toddler’s horrific injuries and vowed to see the ‘cold, vindictive woman’ brought to justice.
Lorien Norman, 26, from Adelaide, was given a suspended jail sentence and fined just $500 for assaulting her daughter Evie with a kitchen serving spoon.
‘I had a phone call from major crime team detectives saying she’d been rushed to [hospital] with life threatening head injuries,’ Evie’s father Shane McMahon told Today Tonight.
‘She was in tears, she was in agony and she was screaming. It was shocking, she was so black and blue. Her entire face was swollen.
The father of an eight-month-old girl who was brutally bashed by her mother has spoken of the toddler’s horrific injuries. Pictured, baby Evie after the attack
Lorien Norman, 26, was given a suspended jail sentence and fined just $500 for the shocking attack
Evie’s father Shane McMahon (pictured together) said of the assault: ‘It was shocking, she was so black and blue. Her entire face was swollen’
‘She just wanted to have a bottle and go to sleep on my chest but she couldn’t even touch the bottle… She was so sore. She couldn’t eat or drink for days.’
The two-year good behaviour bond and $500 fine Norman received after pleading guilty to the 2016 attack sparked international outrage.
‘How can you not get time for that? How can you not get time for beating a baby black and blue? It’s a joke. An absolute joke,’ Mr McMahon said.
‘You get a couple of thousand dollar fine for going through a red light in Victoria and she walks away with a $500 bond for nearly killing her child. It’s horrible.’
Mr McMahon, from Adelaide, said he believes the timing of the brutal assault was calculated and deliberate.
‘It was on the anniversary of my father’s passing. She knew very well what the day was,’ he said.
Mr McMahon shares two children with Norman, who escaped jail over the October 2016 incident
Evie’s mother initially told police Evie had fallen at a playground, but later pleaded guilty to aggravated causing harm with intent
Pictures that shocked the world showed the youngster with severe bruising to her face
‘She knew how much it upset me. She knew I’d just entered into a new relationship and was finally happy and moving on.’
He added: ‘She’s a very calculative, cold, vindictive woman.’
Mr McMahon has until Wednesday to appeal Norman’s sentence and has vowed to fight for justice.
‘Fight, fight and fight. My daughters and my family are number one – keeping them safe and cared for is my main priority… I’d love to be able to fight to have our justice system changed,’ he said.
Numerous petitions have been set up calling for Norman’s retrial. One has amassed over 100,000 signatures.
Mr McMahon previously told Daily Mail Australia his daughter’s injuries would cause long-term issues for his ‘cheeky little monkey’.
Evie’s father Shane McMahon (right) said his daughter would need ongoing rehabilitation to overcome her mental scars
The two-year good behaviour bond and $500 fine Norman received after pleading guilty to the 2016 attack sparked international outrage
He said despite his daughter’s physical health being back to normal, it was likely to be years before she overcame the mental scars she suffered in the attack.
‘Mentally she hasn’t been cleared, because it’s too early in a baby’s life to determine what the exact mental repercussions will be,’ he said.
‘She’s going to have to have extensive mental rehabilitation down the track, but the concern is that what upsets her most is that she doesn’t like anything near her face.
‘My other daughter has a soft ball and if it goes anywhere near her or near her face she cowers, so she knows what she’s been through and she’s well aware that she’s been hurt.’
Despite being unable to have a haircut because of her fear of anything touching the area where she was bashed, Evie is back on track physically.
Mother Lorien Norman (pictured) could have been sentenced to up to 13 years behind bars
Norman was allowed to walk free on a two year good behaviour bond following her sentencing
Evie’s father (pictured) says he has raised the youngster and her sister ‘single-handedly’
‘She’s fantastic. It’s 12 months on and she’s been given the all clear physically by the paediatricians, so there’s no long term affect on the physical structure of her bones.
‘Before she got here she was quite timid, shy and scared, but she’s come into her own little world – she runs the place now.
‘She’s just a cheeky little monkey running around without her nappy, climbing up on the bench when she’s not supposed to, drawing on the walls – she’s a beautiful girl.’
Evie’s mother walked free from court after a judge found the baby’s injuries were ‘likely to resolve’.
Despite the offence carrying a maximum sentence of 13 years, Norman did not spend a day behind bars, instead given the bond and ordered to pay $500.
Speaking to Daily Mail Australia previously, Mr McMahon said it was likely to be years before Evie overcame the mental scars she suffered in the attack
Norman did not spend a day behind bars over the attack, instead given the bond and ordered to pay $500
After escaping jail time, Norman sent a smug Facebook message to her former partner Shane McMahon
Gloating about her escape in the hours after facing the District Court, Norman sent a series of messages to her former partner.
‘So I’m not going to jail. What’s your next move?’
‘I’ll send you photos in October. Cute family photos of myself, Indi, Evie, my sister, her partner and my nephew, Hudson.
‘Even with everyone on social media against me, I still made it. And I’ll be having part custody within a year.’
Initially Norman claimed Evie had become bruised following a fall in a playground, before later pleading guilty aggravated assault causing harm.