A MAN who killed his partner’s disabled three-year-old daughter after she refused to eat lunch has been jailed for 11 years.
Paul Marsh, 27, formerly of Lydd, Kent, inflicted catastrophic head injuries on Jessica Dalgleish at her home near Folkestone, Kent on December 21, 2019.
She died three days later on Christmas Eve at King's College Hospital in London.
Marsh, a care worker, was convicted of manslaughter and child cruelty on November 3, 2021 before being sentenced yesterday at Maidstone Crown Court.
"This is a tragic case in which a young girl has been robbed of her life before it had really begun," said Detective Chief Inspector Neil Kimber, Senior Investigating Officer for the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.
"Marsh was reluctant to get medical attention for Jessica on the day he inflicted these injuries and he has since sought to evade justice by changing his account and lying about what actually happened on that day."
Serious head injuries
Marsh was left with Jessica on the afternoon of December 21, 2019 but phoned emergency services at 3.10pm saying he had found her on the floor and she seemed dazed.
Paramedics attended and quickly realised that Jessica had suffered serious head injuries.
They arranged for an air ambulance to fly her to specialist care in London, but she died in hospital on the afternoon of December 24, 2019.
Marsh suggested Jessica had fallen down the stairs while playing, but his account of what had happened was unclear, prompting an investigation by Kent Police.
Existing bruising
Medical experts found Jessica's injuries were inconsistent with falling down the stairs and were more likely to have been caused by an impact, such as being thrown against the headboard or the side of her bed.
Further enquiries revealed Jessica had been seen with bruising to her face and head around a week before the incident, however these injuries were not reported to police at the time.
The bruising suggested Marsh had assaulted Jessica on previous occasions before the attack that led to her death.
Witness evidence revealed Marsh had also become increasingly angry and frustrated at looking after her in the weeks before her death.
It was determined that Marsh had inflicted the fatal injuries on Jessica after she failed to eat all of her lunch while he was trying to watch football.
Jessica's life support was switched off on Christmas Eve when it was determined her injuries were irreversible.
"I hope the jury's verdicts and the sentence handed down today give Jessica's relatives some sense of closure as they continue to mourn her tragic death," added DCI Kimber.
