A mother and her ex-boyfriend have been today jailed for 10 years over the ‘brutal’ death of her 24-day-old baby who suffered a fractured skull and brain haemorrhage.
Roxanne Davis, 30, and her 24-year-old former boyfriend Samuel Davis were each jailed for ten years for causing the death of her son Stanley Davis.
Stanley died in hospital on March 28, 2017 after suffering ‘horrific injuries’.
He had also been admitted to Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra Hospital for 32 rib fractures and nine more to his arms and legs on three other occasions.
Davis and Davies, who both smoked cannabis and took cocaine, tried to cover up his injuries, which could have been caused by shaking him or throwing across the room.
Sentencing the pair, the judge said that the baby ‘was in pain for much of his short life’ and suffered a ‘brutal’ attack in which he was violently shaken.
The judge said Davis was more upset about herself than her son, who she ‘treated as little more than a fashion accessory.’
Roxanne Davis, 30, and her 24-year-old former boyfriend Samuel Davis were each jailed for ten years
Baby Stanley (pictured) suffered a fractured skull and a brain haemorrhage before his death
Roxanne Davis, 30, is pictured here on police body cam footage when officers were called to her flat two weeks before the infant’s death
Her ex-boyfriend Samuel Davies, 24 (pictured) has also been jailed. He is pictured answering the door of their flat when officers attended on March 11 last year, just over two weeks before Stanley died in hospital on March 28 2017
Police officers were called to the couple’s flat just 17 days before Stanley died – when he was only one-week old – after neighbours reported them shouting.
A court heard today a bruise behind Stanley’s right ear was misdiagnosed as a birth mark by a paediatrician, when it was in fact the first sign of serious injury.
When it began to fade just days after it was spotted, it was looked at again by midwives who realised it was in fact a bruise.
Despite lengthy investigations, police have never been able to establish which of the pair inflicted the fatal injuries.
But when they were convicted, Davis turned to her ‘volatile’ former partner in the dock and told him: ‘You murdered my baby.’
Sentencing the pair at Winchester Crown Court, Jane Miller QC said Davis continued to smoke cannabis and had cocaine on at least three occasions.
She said Davies also took cannabis and cocaine, ‘sometimes clearly a lot.’
Davis sobbed during the hearing and as she was taken down to the cells, she shouted out: ‘He’s a murderer.’
The court heard that the former couple, who are not married, had a fractious relationship, with the police being called to the property on March 11 by neighbours who reported shouting coming from the one-bedroom flat they shared in Gosport.
Both defendants were tested positive for taking cocaine and cannabis after they were arrested following Stanley’s hospitalisation.
Davies told his and his ex-partner’s trial that Stanley was looked after by him, his mother and her family, and added: ‘That baby from day two was passed around like a parcel.’
Baby Stanley (pictured) suffered a fractured skull and a brain haemorrhage before his death
Prosecutors added that on March 15, Davies had taken a photo of a newspaper article about a mother who had taken her dead baby on to a bus to avoid detection over the child’s death from a head injury.
The court also heard how she had posted a video on Facebook on March 20 – the day before Stanley was taken to hospital – of him having a fit, along with the comment: ‘My baby is 16 days should he be doing this already.’
Stanley died a week later.
Giving evidence, Davis told the court that when her son was born she was ‘over the moon’, adding: ‘I had my whole world in my hands.’
After Stanley’s death a crowdfunding page was set up to raise money for his funeral, which accumulated £2,300 in total.
His mother had written on the page that her son had been her ‘miracle baby’ after being told she would not be able to have children when she was younger.
Davies told jurors his girlfriend had been ‘jealous’ she was not the centre of attention after her son’s birth.
Davis wept as prosecutor James Newton-Price QC told the court there was a ‘disregard for the welfare’ of her son and a series of ‘escalating’ injuries.
He said: ‘This is a high culpability case. It features multiple incidents of injuries, using force and disregard for the welfare of the victim.
‘The suffering was prolonged and there was escalating injuries, with bones broken and re-broken.
‘The Crown would say they were warned very clearly warned about the risk of harm to Stanley by the police and a social worker.
‘They were warned they could not behave in an aggressive or argumentative way.’
The infant died a week after he was admitted to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth (pictured) in a ‘serious condition’
Katie Thorne QC, defending Davis, said that she suffered from depression and added: ‘Miss Davis’ case has always been that she didn’t cause the injuries. Miss Davis did accept her strong feelings of guilt in failing to protect Stanley.’
Sally Howes QC, defending Davies, who was not the biological father, said he had ‘a great sadness and a great feeling of guilt’.
She added: ‘He is clearly a very immature man and his diagnoses of ADHD and emotionally unstable personality disorder are recent and will have to be addressed at a later stage.’
Derek Benson, chairman of the Hampshire Safeguarding Children Board, has confirmed that a review is being carried out of the handling of the child’s care by the authorities.
An NSPCC spokesperson said: ‘Davis and Davies should have loved, cared and protected baby Stanley. Instead, they caused the death of this defenceless baby and it is right that they are now behind bars as a consequence of their actions.’