Walsall father 'shook baby to death'

Neil Smith, 33, had been left alone with the infant at the family home in Walsall Wood while his wife Nicola had gone out for the evening for the first time since baby Hope was born.

But less than 10 minutes after making a FaceTime chat to check on her, Mrs Smith received a call from her husband to say that their four-month-old daughter was 'floppy and lifeless'.

She told him to call 999 immediately and raced home to the Salters Road, arriving before ambulance crews turned up. Hope was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital and later to Birmingham Children's Hospital but she died some months later from catastrophic brain injuries, the jury heard.

Smith had been looking forward to watching the televised game between Sunderland and Derby on the evening of August 4, 2017, when the injuries to Hope occurred, said Ms Miranda Moore, QC, prosecuting.

He was particularly interested in seeing a pre-match tribute to young cancer victim Bradley Lowery, a Sunderland fan, and he even informed his wife by text that the club had just held a minute's silence for the boy.

But there were also messages to his wife about Hope not settling. In the FaceTime call, when Mrs Smith saw the child on her husband's lap, he had told her: 'She's kicking off because you're not here', Birmingham Crown Court was told.

Shortly afterwards she texted him to say she had arrived at the pub with her friend, to which the defendant replied 'She's starting again'.

Mrs Smith told him the baby just wanted to sleep and gave him instructions about how to tuck her into her crib. But three minutes later came the call to say Hope had collapsed.

Ms Moore said timing was crucial in the case, with medical experts agreeing that Hope had not collapsed from an injury suffered earlier in the day when others were about.

"What he did to Hope he did within those three minutes. The incident and the collapse happened at the same time," she said.

The jury was told that an accident at work in 2015 had left Smith with epilepsy and anger management issues. He was 'on a short fuse', said the prosecutor. It had led to arguments, including over a large amount of compensation which Smith had received as a result of his injuries.

Ms Moore told the court: "Although in the cold light of day, the defendant could be described as a loving father, when you lose your temper and do that to a baby, you intend to do them serious harm or you intend to kill them, even if it's just in that moment."

Hope died on November 9, 2017, when doctors tuned off her life support machine. Smith, of Coleridge Close, Willenhall, denies murder. The case continues.