‘Controlling and coercive’ father, 29, who shook three-month-old daughter to death gets 14 years in prison – The Sun
A ‘controlling and coercive’ father who shook his three-month-old daughter to death has been jailed for 14 years.
Samuel Warnock, 29, from Devizes in Wiltshire, previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Myah Warnock in 2021.
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His wife and Miyah’s mother, Jasmine Warnock, 29, were sentenced to three years’ community service with 30 rehabilitation days.
She previously pleaded guilty to child abuse because she had been unable to stop her husband from abusing their daughter.
Sentencing the pair, the judge, Mrs Justice May, said the deaths occurred against the backdrop of domestic violence by Warnock against his wife.
She described Warnock as a “reckless and irresponsible new father, prone to anger, easily frustrated, deeply needy and dangerously unable to properly care for a small new baby.”
Caroline Carberry KC, prosecuting, told Winchester Crown Court that Miyah was admitted to Bristol Children’s Hospital on September 20, 2021, where she died on October 19.
She said: “She suffered a traumatic head injury which caused her heart to stop and left her with a non-survivable brain injury.”
The fatal incident happened two days after Warnock called 999 reporting Miyah was having difficulty breathing.
However, after paramedics she was considered normal.
The court heard how Jasmine returned home from work two days later, on September 20, to find Samuel on the phone to the emergency services.
Warnock told the operator that Miyah “had a seizure” after waking up and stopping breathing “because she was crying so much,” Carberry said.
SMOKED WEED FOR PARAMEDICS
The father said Miyah then went “limp” before “gasping for breath”, but after the ambulance arrived he went to his room to smoke weed.
He only emerged after his now mother-in-law, Michelle Rideout, said “go downstairs and stay with your daughter,” the prosecutor said.
He returned but paramedics said he ‘appeared agitated and aggressive, shouting and swearing’, the court heard.
Mrs Carberry said Miyah was taken to hospital, where Warnock told a receptionist: “She was unwell yesterday, the ambulance saw her, she had a fit – she was a bit of a drama queen.”
The father was on bail for dealing cannabis at the time of his daughter’s fatal collapse and had continued dealing drugs while Miyah was in intensive care.
Miyah died almost a month later, on October 19.
Ms Carberry told the court Warnock smoked cannabis near the baby and had a history of violent crimes, including biting a police officer.
She was unwell yesterday, the ambulance saw her, she had a fit – she was a bit of a drama queen
Samuel Warnock to a receptionist at Bristol Children’s Hospital
She said relatives noticed bruises on the three-month-old baby’s legs and shoulders before the fatal incident.
Friends later raised concerns after witnessing Warnock’s “rough handling” of Miyah, the court heard.
Mrs Carberry added: “He was seen taking her out of the basket as she slept, holding her above his head and commenting that it looked like a scene in The Lion King.
“It was seen that he was not supporting her head or moving her body from side to side.”
She added that Warnock had been ‘controlling and coercive’ towards his wife.
But Mrs Warnock – who was not present when Miyah was fatally injured – “ignored the warning signs” of her daughter’s injuries caused by her husband, choosing instead to believe his “apologies”.
Mrs Carberry added: “She failed to protect her little daughter.
“She is not responsible for assaulting the baby on any occasion, she was not present when the fatal injury was inflicted.”
‘DESTROYED’
Miyah’s grandparents, who helped care for her, were “devastated” by her death, which “left a hole in their lives”, the court heard.
Charles Row, defending Samuel Warnock, said his client had expressed “genuine” remorse.
A written note from the father said: “It’s something that will haunt me forever. I wish with all my being I could take those minutes back, I would give my own life to get my daughter back.”
Sallie Bennett-Jenkins KC, defending Ms Warnock, said: “She did not foresee the risk of death or serious harm to Miyah and was not present at any time when any injuries were inflicted nor did she cause any harm.”
The judge told Ms Warnock: “You have been the victim of controlling and coercive behavior to some extent and this has affected your ability to recognize what he was doing, but it has not made you completely powerless.”
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