A couple have been jailed over the death of their baby son who sustained “catastrophic” injuries after allegedly being shaken and immersed in water.
Alistair Walker, 27, was jailed for 10 years for the manslaughter of three-month-old Ah’Kiell Walker, and Hannah Henry, 22, was sentenced to four years for causing or allowing the death.
When paramedics arrived at the family home in Gloucester, Ah’Kiell was naked, wet and so cold that his temperature could not be measured.
A CT scan showed bleeding in his eyes consistent with shaking. He died the next day and a postmortem examination found he had previously suffered fractures to his ribs and a shoulder.
Sentencing Walker, Judge Sir John Royce, said: “You know what it was that you did, but you have decided you will not reveal what you did.
“You know why he was freezing cold and soaking wet, with catastrophic injuries. You no doubt thought you would get away with it.”
Addressing Henry, he said: “I accept that you were manipulated and controlled by him [Walker], that you had been on the receiving end of his violence. But you ignored your mother’s pleas to leave him, and you put your obsession with him ahead of your duty to protect your son.”
A jury at Bristol crown court was told that in the weeks before his son’s death, Walker searched online: “Can I squeeze my baby?” and “Can babies feel pain?”
In a 999 call played in court, Henry sobbed as she described how her son was coughing up blood and barely breathing. Her partner could be heard speaking in the background.
When paramedics arrived, Ah’Kiell was seriously ill and taking just four breaths a minute. His lungs were full of water and a paramedic tipped him upside down to clear the liquid. The next day, he was declared brain dead and it was decided to remove his breathing tube.
In the witness box, Walker denied hurting his son and said he would have protected him if he was threatened. “I loved him to bits,” he told the court.
Henry said her son had been happy and she had not noticed him being in pain before his collapse. Asked what she would have done if she believed Ah’Kiell had been injured by Walker, she replied: “I would have phoned the police.”
Henry admitted that Walker “frightened” her. She said he had broken her jaw before she was pregnant, but denied that he was violent towards Ah’Kiell. However, she had sent a WhatsApp message to her mother, saying: “He’s so horrible to Ah’Kiell. Don’t know how he does it.”
After the sentencing, Ch Insp Richard Pegler, of Gloucestershire police, said: “The important thing is that Walker and Henry have been held to account for their cruel actions and behaviour.
“They have shown no real remorse for what they have done and have not provided any explanation as to what really happened, so only they know the truth.”
