A dad has been found guilty of murdering his five-month-old baby daughter by shaking her to death after having a 'difficult afternoon looking after her'.
Philip Peace, from Dudley, was looking after baby Summer alone and dialled 999 saying 'something was wrong' with her because there were large gaps in her breathing, a jury heard.
Prosecutor Andrew Smith QC said paramedics arrived within minutes to find the baby 'unresponsive, limp, struggling to breathe' and with a 'very weak pulse'.
Peace, 43, was accused of causing fatal injuries to Summer moments before calling for an ambulance.
She was taken to hospital where specialists battled to save her, but sadly her life support was withdrawn the next day as it became clear nothing could be done.
Summer died at Birmingham Children's Hospital on September 9, 2017, around 25 hours after emergency services were alerted.
A scan revealed Summer suffered significant brain injuries that she 'could not recover from', Birmingham Live reports.
The jury was also told she had sustained bruises to her arm and chest as well as 11 rib fractures to her sternum.
She was also diagnosed with pneumonia.
Mr Smith argued her death was caused by the head injuries brought on by a 'traumatic event'.
He stated the defendant lost control with his daughter because she had been 'difficult' to look after that afternoon.
Mr Smith put it to the court that in that moment he 'intended at the very least to cause really serious injuries to her'.
During the five-week trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Peace maintained that Summer had become unsettled and wouldn’t take her bottle, so he placed her on the floor.
However moments later he realised she wasn’t breathing properly and when he picked her up she was limp.
During a lengthy investigation, detectives consulted both practising clinicians and experts in a range of specialist areas of medicine, driven by the desire to understand fully how Summer died.
The medical experts found evidence of injuries consistent with Summer having been shaken and then thrown against a semi-hard surface such as a sofa.
Her injuries included fractured ribs, retinal bleeding and a catastrophic brain injury, so severe that it had been the cause of her immediate respiratory collapse that afternoon.
At court the experts considered the medical evidence from both a pathological and clinical perspective and gave their opinion to the jury.
Peace stood trial at Birmingham Crown Court denying a charge of murder and the alternative count of manslaughter.
But the jury found him guilty of murder after deliberating for three days.
Peace was remanded into custody and will be sentenced on Friday, February 26.
Detective Sergeant Naomi Mauchan said: “From the very start, the police investigation sought to establish what caused Summer’s collapse, and yet sadly it will only ever be Philip Peace who knows the sequence of events that afternoon.
“It has been proved during the trial that the account Philip Peace provided to his family, medical professionals, police and, latterly, the jury was a lie.
“The death of a child is one of the most traumatic experiences that any parent could ever suffer and I acknowledge that the grief of Summer’s family may have been compounded by the police investigation into why she died.
“However this enquiry has always focused on seeking justice for Summer. The medical evidence collectively proved that she died from non-accidental injuries, so to dismiss the evidence and opinions of so many expert witnesses would be an injustice to her.
“I would like to extend my thanks to all those who gave evidence during the trial, particularly the paramedics who attended that afternoon and administered immediate medical assistance to Summer, and the doctors from both Russell’s Hall Hospital and Birmingham Children’s Hospital who worked tirelessly to try and save her.
“I commend the members of the jury who have listened to a wide range of medical evidence and witness testimony, which at times has been emotionally difficult, in order to reach their verdict."
