A TEENAGER who murdered his six-week-old baby son in an act of ‘callous brutality’ has been given a life sentence with a minimum of 15 years.
Doulton Phillips, 17, was convicted this week of murdering baby Reggie by a unanimous jury verdict at Winchester Crown Court in Hampshire, England.
Reggie’s 19-year-old mother Alannah Skinner of Medwall Green, Southampton, was convicted of two counts of neglect and sentenced to 30 months in a Young Offenders Institution.
'Violent and sustained attack'
The shocking incident took place at a Southampton flat in the early hours of February 11, 2018 when Phillips was 16 and Skinner was 18.
The court heard how Reggie suffered a complex skull fracture, a bite to his nose, a fractured leg and rib fractures at the hands of his father, who was under the influence of drink and drugs.
Following the ‘brutal’ and ‘truly appalling’ assault, baby Reggie was taken to hospital but was pronounced dead a short while later.
“Such wicked cruelty shown towards this helpless, tiny baby is almost beyond belief,” said Mr Justice Spencer.
“It is supported, regrettably, by the evidence of your callous brutality.
“You carried out a violent and sustained attack on Reggie.”
The judge described Reggie as a ‘delightful, perfect, much wanted and much loved baby’, adding that ‘no words of mine can convey the utter tragedy’ of his death.
Tears
Skinner, the baby’s mother, wept as she was sentenced to 30 months for failing to protect her baby and 12 months for failing to summon medical assistance sooner, to run concurrently.
She was suspected of helping her boyfriend clean up the nose injury, and accused in court by the judge of ‘covering up’ the assault on her son.
Prosectutor Adam Feest QC argued that Skinner ‘must have realised’ her child was injured and seriously distressed after the assault, but did not call for an ambulance until ‘a significant time’ later.
Referring to the baby’s nose injury, Mr Justice Spencer said: “It defies belief that any mother seeing that injury let the baby anywhere near the perpetrator, even if it was the father.”
