The mother of a baby who suffered "catastrophic" injuries after the infant's father violently shook her has told a court she could barely recognise her 11-week-old immediately after the attack.
WARNING: This story contains graphic content that readers may find distressing.
Daniel James Morgan was found guilty of causing head injuries and life-threatening harm to his daughter at their home in Paralowie in Adelaide's north in 2018.
Morgan had claimed he had accidentally fallen on his infant daughter while she was sleeping on a mattress, but Justice Liesl Chapman found that was "implausible".
In a South Australian District Court sentencing hearing, the prosecution read a victim impact statement written by the baby's mother, Adeline Wilson.
Ms Wilson said she had been "inconsolable" when she first saw her injured daughter in hospital.
"I barely recognised my own child … I couldn't even put my index finger into her palm.
"I was inconsolable, it was the most confronting, traumatic thing to watch your child go through as a mother.
"It was soul-crushing hopelessness, I couldn't do anything.
"My worst fear was that the doctors wouldn't have been able to help her recover or that she would have permanent brain damage from her injuries."
'It was hard not to think the worst'
Ms Wilson told the court that for a time her daughter was "unresponsive, sedated on a breathing machine".
"It was hard not to think the worst," she said.
However, after nearly a week, she began to see signs the baby was beginning to recover.
Ms Wilson described the moment her daughter woke up around a month later.
"But once she opened her eyes, I knew she was going to be OK."
Ms Wilson said around the same time the Department for Child Protection questioned her about the incident, and she became "quite upset, angry and emotional".
"I would never put my children in harm's way," she said.
"I felt cornered and ashamed, pressured to start pointing fingers when I already blamed myself."
"Since the day my daughter was hospitalised, it has been a domino effect," she said.
"Still recovering and trying to heal from this traumatic experience, almost losing my daughter, trying to hold my life together for my family.
'No explanation, no contrition, no remorse'
In a District Court sentencing hearing earlier this week, Justice Liesl Chapman said Morgan had demonstrated "no explanation, no contrition or remorse".
Justice Chapman she had "seen his temper" which he had showed "loudly in court", and that the lack of further explanation for the injuries did not leave her "much to work with".
"I've got a young man who's lost control to such an extent that he's violently shaking his own daughter and caused her catastrophic injuries," she said.
Morgan 'bashed' in prison
Morgan's defence lawyer Adam Richards said he had a happy childhood and did not have alcohol or drug issues at the time the incident occurred.
He said the charges had caused Morgan to become "withdrawn, depressed" and "suicidal".
Richards said Morgan had also been attacked in prison by "two men who went into his cell and bashed him for a period of time".
He said the attack had forced him into "protection" in prison and caused anxiety for Morgan.
Mr Richards said Morgan knew "no matter what the court does, he's lost his daughter".
Morgan will be sentenced next week.
