A troubled dad who killed his baby daughter weeks after saying he feared he couldn't look after her has been jailed for 12 years.
Daniel Ashurst, 33, told a mental health nurse he was afraid he would struggle to cope with 14-month-old Hollie when his partner returned to work following maternity leave.
Leanne Thompson was just two days into her new job when she received a phone call saying her daughter had been rushed to hospital, reports Manchester Evening News.
Having being left alone with Hollie, Ashurst shook her violently at the family home in Shevington, Wigan, a court heard.
The toddler suffered a catalogue of horrific injuries and died the following day in hospital.
Ashurst, 33, denied ever harming her but was found guilty of manslaughter.
As he was led from the dock, there were shouts of 'monster' and 'baby killer' from the public gallery.
Hollie's injuries included bleeding on the brain and in the eyes, a broken ankle and two possible bite marks to her hand and thigh. She also sustained bruises and abrasions to the head and neck area.
Just a fortnight earlier, Ashurst and Ms Thompson had returned from a two-week holiday to Gran Canaria with Hollie.
They planned to get married the following year.
They first met on a dating website in September 2016 and, after going on several dates together, entered a relationship.
Within just two months of meeting, the couple moved in together and, in December 2017, Hollie was born.
In the weeks leading up to the baby's tragic death, her parents had been arguing about money.
Ashurst confronted Ms Thompson over money she had lent out that hadn't been paid back yet.
She accused him of wasting £150 on cocaine.
Ashurst would later admit, in front of jurors trying him for killing Hollie, that he drank and took cocaine most nights to 'chill out'.
On the day Hollie sustained the injuries, Ashurst was seen behaving strangely. He wanted to lose weight, so he went to the home of a Facebook friend to pick up a diet plan.
She noticed that he seemed tense, and that he left Hollie in the car with the engine running.
Earlier, he had driven Hollie to Asda to have some photos taken at a Max Spielmann concession, having dropped Ms Thompson at work.
Throughout the morning, Ashurst and Ms Thompson exchanged a number of messages in which they discussed bills and said they missed each other.
Ashurst reassured her that Hollie was fine.
But, hours later, Ashurst burst into Standish Medical Practice holding the child's limp body in his arms.
When medical staff asked him what had happened, Ashurst gave differing and jumbled accounts.
He was arrested later at hospital on suspicion of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Hollie, which changed to murder after her death.
Pathologist Dr Charles Wilson said he believed Hollie had been the subject of 'non-accidental injury involving excessive acceleration and deceleration of her head in relation to the rest of her body, with multiple impacts to her head and face'.
He added that there was 'compelling evidence that she had been bitten on more than one occasion'.
Ashurst was cleared by a jury at Manchester Crown Court of murdering the toddler, but found guilty of her manslaughter.
Today, a judge sentenced him to 12 years in prison. He will serve half the sentence. The 358 days he has already spent on remand will be included.
Ashurst had told medics his daughter had tumbled down two steps on the stairs on February 28.
But in a defence statement seven months later, he claimed a series of unfortunate accidents had befallen his daughter.
In a rush to get her to hospital he said she fell further down the staircase when he slipped and lost grip of her as his shorts pocket snagged something on the way down.
Ashurst then claimed Hollie flew out of her car seat as he braked heavily at a set of traffic lights.
The Crown said his explanation for the injuries was "nonsense" and was fabricated in a bid to fit the medical evidence.
Jurors were told they could only convict Ashurst of murder if they found he had assaulted her and intended to cause her death or serious injury.
Instead they unanimously agreed he intended to cause her some harm short of serious injury or he realised some harm was likely to be caused.
Unemployed Ashurst was on medication for anxiety and depression and admitted he drank three of four cans of lager nightly - and took cocaine two or three times a week to help him relax.
He used cocaine on the evening before the fatal injuries were said to have happened, the court was told, but he said it had no effect on him the next day after "a good night's sleep".
Ashurst denied ever harming her.
Senior Investigating Officer Duncan Thorpe of GMP’s Major Incident Support Unit said: “The death of a child is always heart breaking but this is a particularly heart wrenching case.
"Hollie was an innocent baby girl who was killed by her father who should have been providing care and protection.
“Hollie was found to have multiple internal and external injuries, which Ashurst was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for.
“Throughout our investigation and the trial, our thoughts have remained with Hollie’s mother and extended family. This has been an extremely difficult time for them so I hope today’s result brings them a sense of closure.
“Hollie will never be forgotten."
