Walsall father who killed six-month-old son with ‘severe’ blow jailed for 15 years

David Hollick, of Primley Avenue, was told he had carried out a “grotesque” breach of trust in attacking Kairo Hollick, who was shaken and subjected to at least one “severe” impact.

Hollick, 29, cried in the dock at Birmingham Crown Court before he was jailed by Mr Justice Dove on Monday.

Jurors at an earlier trial were told Hollick, who denied murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter, claimed he had tripped and fallen over while carrying Kairo.

He admitted he lied to his parents, the child's mother, her parents, doctors and the police about injuring his son, all for a desire "not to be judged as a bad parent".

Former tattoo artist Hollick told jurors why he kept quiet for nearly four years about "accidentally" dropping the baby on his head until midway through his trial.

He said: "I did not want to be judged, judged as a bad parent. I was scared about losing my children. I felt I would be judged for my stupid, clumsiness in falling over with him in my arms."

But medical experts said Kairo, who died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital on February 12, 2020, had suffered injuries consistent with an assault.

Hollick was found not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter in February after jurors heard how Kairo suffered at least two skull fractures and a fracture to his right arm while in the care of his father three days before he died.

Prosecutor David Mason KC told the court Kairo “had not only been shaken violently, but his head had been bashed at least twice” with a hard object.

During the trial, one of the world’s leading experts in children’s brains told a jury there was no explanation ‘in the realms of normal handling’ for the injuries.

While Kairo’s maternal grandfather Justin Johnson said Hollick had called the baby an offensive name in front of him and his wife Sharon when they picked him up from the defendant’s home in October 2019.

He also said the following month he advised his daughter Adina, Kairo’s mother, not to let the baby stay over with Hollick, after she complained that the baby returned home with a swollen lip.

“David had told her that the dummy or the bottle had caused the mark,” Mr Johnson told the jury.

Passing sentence, Mr Justice Dove said he was sure Kairo had met with non-accidental injuries in the early hours of February 9, 2020.

He told Hollick: “The evidence of the medical experts was that these injuries were not the result of rough handling or an accident, but the consequence of severe blunt force impact.

“He was extremely vulnerable and what you did to him was a complete betrayal of your duty as a parent.

“It is perfectly clear, for example from the videos which we saw of Kairo taken shortly before his death, what a delightful baby he obviously was.”

The judge said he was sure that a single impact or multiple impacts had been inflicted on Kairo, alongside shaking.

He also told Hollick: “Kairo’s family will never know what caused you to inflict these serious injuries and kill their son and grandson.

“It is hard to think of a more grotesque breach of trust between a parent and their child; that a parent could assault and kill their own child.”

The trial heard Hollick’s ex-partner, Adina Johnson, dropped their son off at his home as usual on February 7 for the weekend, and while Kairo had a cold at the time, she had no other concerns about his health.

Hollick was staying in the conservatory at his parents’ home due to a lack of bedroom space after moving back in with them when his relationship with Ms Johnson ended.

In a victim impact statement read to the court before sentence was passed, Ms Johnson said: “It’s been four years since when this nightmare began.

“I still can’t comprehend the reality that Kairo has died.”

Describing Kairo as a “dream baby that seemed too good to be true”, Ms Johnson said: “He learned things so fast.”

Family events were now overshadowed entirely by the fact her family would never be whole, Ms Johnson said.

Accusing Hollick of attempting to manipulate the jury with his “false narrative of an accident” to hide his “inhumane” actions, Ms Johnson added: “Our suffering has been prolonged for years by David Hollick, who continued to deny involvement.”