Man guilty of killing baby who died of 'catastrophic' brain injury in Northwich

A "monster" who has been found guilty of the manslaughter of a 22-month-old baby girl blamed his crimes on her mother.

Brandon Heath inflicted the fatal, massive brain injury on the child after being trusted to look after her by her mother, on 30 August 2020 in Northwich.

He called the emergency services at 9:41am, claiming that the girl was unresponsive, and telling operators she was limp and struggling to breathe, but he said he did not know why.

Heath, of no fixed abode, then gave the 999 operator, paramedics and police, a number of explanations for what had happened, changing his story several times.

But he maintained he had done nothing to cause the baby's problems.

When paramedics arrived they found the toddler in the first floor bedroom, struggling to breathe with an abnormal swelling to the back of her head.

Heath was the only adult present at the house and told a paramedic she had fallen off a bed and must have hit her head.

He added she had then become sleepy so he brought her upstairs and left her in the bedroom for a moment, returning to find her struggling to breathe.

He then told another paramedic that he had found her on the floor in a lethargic state.

When the air ambulance arrived a doctor concluded it was "highly likely" the child had suffered a severe brain injury.

She was taken to Alder Hey children’s hospital in Liverpool where she underwent an operation, but she sadly died at 7:45pm on 31 August.

A post-mortem examination revealed that she had sustained a catastrophic brain injury together with bleeding within and around her eyes, bruising to the body, along with rib fractures and damage to nerves in the neck.

Experts determined that she had suffered a significant traumatic head injury which, in their opinion, could not have been caused by accident

Heath was interviewed by police at the time before being arrested and charged with murder on 21 July 2021.

Detective Inspector Adam Waller said the injuries the child suffered was described by one of the pathology experts as being similar to a crash or "multi-storey fall".

Insp Waller added Heath went on to blame the mum of the toddler who "wasn’t even present at the time" and this "demonstrated total lack of compassion and cowardice".

Heath, who has been described as a "monster", pleaded not guilty, and a jury at Chester Crown Court found him not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter.

He will be sentenced on 8 March 2022.

Senior Crown prosecutor Nicky Inskip, said: "This toddler did not suffer brain damage and death through some dreadful disease or a road traffic accident.

"The Crown Prosecution Service said she died as a result of violence inflicted upon her by Brandon Heath, the man who had been left caring for her.

"He claimed he didn’t know what had happened to her but medical experts who saw the child before and after her death concluded that the many injuries on this little girl’s body were not accidental and the severe injury to her head had led to her death.

"Brandon Heath maintained his innocence throughout, dragging her parents through a trial.

"The jury have seen through his lies and found him guilty of killing her. Our thoughts remain with the child’s family."

In a tribute, the little girl's mother said: "She was always so happy and full of life, the happiest cheekiest little girl you had ever seen, her smile lit up the whole room. Her personality was so big, my heart aches every day."I thank Adam Waller and the team for bringing the truth to light and bringing that monster to justice.”