A teenage couple were today convicted over the death of their six-week-old son after he was bitten on the nose and violently swung by the leg.
Doulton Phillips, 17, of Southampton, murdered his infant son Reggie before Alannah Skinner, 19, failed to call an ambulance in a sick bid to ‘protect’ her partner.
Phillips, who was 16 at the time, took class A drug ecstasy and Skinner drank alcohol at a party which they took Reggie to hours before his murder in February.
Six-week-old Reggie Phillips was left with catastrophic fatal injuries including a fractured skull
Helpless Reggie was left with catastrophic fatal injuries including a fractured skull after his father bit him on the nose and swung him by the leg.
Reggie’s parents can be identified for the first time today as a judge lifted a ban preventing their identities from being published following their convictions.
Today at Winchester Crown Court, Phillips was convicted of murder after jurors delivered a unanimous verdict, having been deliberating for four days.
The teenager held his head in his hands and later collapsed as the verdict was delivered and now faces life in prison after the horrific attack.
Skinner was today convicted of willful neglect and failure to protect Reggie after she failed to seek help after he was gravely injured.
The young mother, who was 18 at the time, sobbed as jurors delivered a majority verdict on one count and a unanimous verdict on the other.
Doulton Phillips (left), 17, murdered his infant son Reggie before Alannah Skinner (right, both in file pictures), 19, failed to call an ambulance in a sick bid to ‘protect’ her partner
The court has heard paramedics rushed to their flat in Southampton in the early hours of February 10 this year after the attack.
The couple became embroiled in a blazing row following a drunken party where Phillips took ecstasy and Skinner downed alcohol.
Phillips took ecstasy at a party which they took Reggie to hours before his murder
Six-week-old Reggie suffered a series of fractured ribs and a spiral break to one of his legs caused by being violently swung by Phillips.
Opening the case, prosecutor Adam Feest QC said: ‘The father inflicted serious and fatal injuries on the baby.
‘Most notably among those injuries was a serious, complex skull fracture to the back of the baby’s head and a spiral fracture to the left femur in his leg.
‘There were a number of fractures to ribs, all sustained close to the time of his death.
‘The baby met a violent end as a result of the injuries perpetuated against him while inside a small flat with his father and mother.
‘The window to inflict the injuries was narrow. He was seen alive and well at 2.30am and help was sought from a neighbour at 4.30am.
‘At that time those non-survivable injuries were already present. The pattern of the bite was consistent with the dental pattern of the father.
‘The deliberate infliction of those injuries was done by the father. Whether in a fit or temper or otherwise, he inflicted those injuries which led to his son’s death.
Today at Winchester Crown Court (pictured), Phillips was convicted of murder and Skinner was found guilty of willful neglect and failure to protect her son
‘His explanation of his son accidentally fallen from the sofa when having his nappy changed or having fallen from his arms while they argued cannot, we say, account for the severity or multiplicity of the injuries sustained.
‘The nature of those injuries is such that the person who inflicted them must have intended to cause really serious injury or death.
‘They are more in keeping with a violent shaking, a swinging or both. It must have been obvious to the father he had caused serious injury to his son.’
Mr Feest QC told the court Phillips said ‘what have I done?’ to a friend while waiting to hear news of his little son’s condition and also said neighbours heard a ‘blood-curdling- scream from the baby during the attack.
Mr Feest QC said while the injuries were inflicted Skinner claimed she was outside on a balcony smoking.
But he said despite the injuries being obvious, she refused to call an ambulance because she ‘did not want to lose’ either her son or boyfriend.
The prosecutor said: ‘The physical manifestation of those injuries would have been immediately apparent to anybody who had contact with the baby – particular his mother.
‘And yet, she did not seek help for her son until she sent a friend down to a neighbour’s a significant time after he had been injured.
‘The exact sequence of events may never be known; either she saw her partner assault her son in a violent way or, if not, she must have been aware shortly afterwards.
‘The injuries were present and the only person who could have done it was her partner. It may be she helped clean up the bleeding caused her partner’s biting caused.
‘Whether to protect him or for some other reason, she willfully neglected her son by failing to take steps to protect him from her partner or not seeking help until much later than she should have.
‘She knew an ambulance or outside help should have been called, but she chose not to do so. Her son needed help, he was seriously injured, and she decided not to do that for him.
‘When the neighbour she sent her friend to for help asked why the mother had not called an ambulance, the mother told her the reason was she had not wanted to lose either of them.’
The father claimed he ‘could not remember’ what happened while the mother said she didn’t neglect her son as she ‘loved him very much’.
Jurors deliberated for a total of 21 hours and 58 minutes.
Justice Robin Spencer released Skinner on bail while Phillips was carried into custody after collapsing. They will both be sentenced tomorrow.
After the case, an NPSCC spokesman said: ‘The injuries suffered by this defenceless six week old baby are truly horrific.
‘Tragically, the pain and suffering he endured during his short life were at the hands of his own father – someone who should have loved and protected him from harm.
‘Despite the fact the newborn was clearly injured his own mother then callously failed to seek the necessary medical attention he so desperately needed.’