A man who abused his partner’s 23-month-old daughter for weeks then smothered her to death has been jailed for at least 20 years.
Jonathan Garner, 26, was earlier convicted of murdering toddler Mia Gregson at the home she shared with the child's mother in Hull.
The jury heard Mia had been abused for weeks before Garner deliberately smothered her because she was crying.
She died in the weeks before she was due to mark her second birthday.
Mia’s mother Samantha Gregson, 26, was also convicted for allowing her daughter’s death, following the pair's seven-week-long trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
She has been jailed for four years, and Garner has been jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years behind bars, Hull Live reports.
The court heard today the mum had been specifically warned off dating Garner due to his violent past in relationships- but moved in with him anyway.
The mum was pregnant with Garner's child when Mia died, and has gone on to have the baby and another child in the nearly six years it's taken to get justice for Mia's death, the sentencing hearing was told today.
A jury yesterday found Garner guilty of murder, and Gregson guilty of causing or allowing Mia’s death on February 13, 2014.
The couple had lived with Mia at their home in Gipsyville, west Hull, where prosecutors said Mia suffered weeks of physical and verbal abuse.
The toddler's injuries included bruising to her head and face, and a broken ankle bone caused by twisting.
The jury in the case heard Mia was also subjected to violent threats and shouting over a period of weeks before her death.
After she was smothered she suffered a cardiac arrest, which led to severe and irreversible brain damage.
She was confirmed dead at hospital later that day. An initial probe launched into Mia’s death was unable to confirm the cause.
However police later brought charges against the couple after more information came to light in 2015.
The jury in the case was told blood was found on the toddler’s blanket and pillow, and it was likely someone had burned her with a lit cigarette.
The path to justice for Mia’s death has taken nearly six years.
The jury also heard her mother had failed to step in as Mia was abused and then deliberately smothered by Garner.
The sentencing hearing today was told by the judge how Gregson was “specifically warned” off dating Garner by social services.
The court heard how the mother had been warned that Garner posed a violent risk to children in light of his history of violence in previous relationships with other women.
Justice Goss also today told the court as he sentenced the pair that it was “highly likely” that the day Mia died was not the first time she had been smothered.
Her mother knew her daughter was being abused since at least mid-January 2014, the court heard.
Gregson was in the room, “awake and present,” when her daughter was smothered, the judge told the court.
Lawyer Bryan Cox QC, representing Gregson, told the court the murder was committed during a period when she was a victim of “an abusive and overbearing relationship which affected her ability to react appropriately to Mr Garner’s dominating and controlling behaviour.”
She had been “deeply affected” by the loss of her daughter and a custody sentence would be “difficult” for her as she remained a risk to herself, Mr Cox said.
The judge told Gregson she had failed to protect her daughter and acknowledged she was “deeply upset” and felt “a considerable degree of guilty”, as she cried in the dock.
He said she had been a “loving and caring mother to Mia” until she met Garner.
However he added she must have been aware of the risk he posed to her daughter, and despite the domestic abuse she faced he had noted she had not taken opportunities to seek help.
The court heard Garner has a ‘number of convictions’ for violence while Gregson has no previous convictions.
No victim impact statements were read to the court before the pair was sentenced.
Garner showed no emotion as his jail sentence was passed.
Gregson's family appeared visibly upset in the public gallery as she was sent behind bars.
Speaking after the sentencing today, the lead investigator in the case Detective Superintendent Matt Baldwin, of Humberside Police, said:
“Mia suffered tragically at Garner’s hands, while Gregson allowed weeks of neglect and abuse to go on against her daughter, leading ultimately to her tragic death.
“I am confident following the sentences today, it will serve to protect any other children coming to any harm from the pair, as they will both be behind bars for a long time.”
