A mum sent 'I'm going to kill her' texts to her partner just days before her daughter, 3, was found dead in their home.
The vile texts of Nicola Priest, from Edgbaston, Birmingham and Callum Redfern of Dudley, West Midlands, were heard in Birmingham Crown Court - after they were convicted of Kaylee-Jayde Priest's manslaughter.
Three-year-old Kaylee was found dead at the flat where Priest lived with her mum on August 9 last year.
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Priest, 23, and her 22-year-old lover Redfern pointed the finger of blame at each other during their trial, but were at the time in a "close sexual relationship".
The couple's text messages were put before the court where the pair talked about hitting and smacking Kaylee.
In a text message exchange on July 24 2020, days before Kaylee's death, Priest told Redfern: "I'm gonna kill her... because she keeps leaving the living room or going in the kitchen, so I've paled (hit) her one and smacked her for shitting in her nappy."
Redfern said: "Good - give her one from me."
Priest replied: "I will, babe."
Three days later, Redfern messaged Priest saying: "I'm going to keep the little brat away from me... sick of your spunking daughter."
Prosecutors said the messages painted a vivid picture of the "uncaring attitude from Priest and Redfern towards Kaylee".
The child's mum rang 999 but a jury convicted Priest after hearing the youngster had been "dead before the call was made".
The youngster, described in court as a "happy child", died from serious chest and abdominal injuries.
Medical examinations later showed she had also suffered historical injuries including broken ribs, lower leg fractures and a broken sternum, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Both were unanimously cleared of murder but convicted of the child's manslaughter on Thursday.
Priest was also found guilty of cruelty to a child, relating to the youngster's historical injuries, but Redfern was cleared of that charge.
Jurors had heard how Priest would hit Kaylee around the head and refer to her as a "f****** brat", while the youngster was also heard crying "in a fearful tone".
On one occasion, neighbours in a flat below at Kingshurst House, Solihull, recalled hearing a bang above and then Kaylee crying, before allegedly hearing Priest say: "I'll just say she fell off the bed."
The same residents claimed they noticed that "when Kaylee cried, the response appeared to be to drown out her crying with music".
In a statement released through police after the verdicts, Kaylee's grandmother Debbie Windmill said the impact of her death would live with her for the rest of her life.
She said: "I could never stop staring at the smile on her beautiful face.
"I loved every moment watching her develop to nearly school age; preparing to buy my first grandchild her pre-school uniform was something that filled me with such happiness.
"I couldn't wait to see her in it, but this opportunity was stolen from me in the most brutal of ways.
"Everybody deserves the gift of life. Kaylee-Jayde deserved to show the world who she could have been and what greatness she could have brought to this world. Nanny will forever hold you in her heart."
Speaking afterwards, Detective Inspector Adam Jobson, said: "This is a really horrific set of circumstances and I cannot imagine for one second what Kaylee-Jayde's family must be going through, they've lost their three-year-old family member at the hands of her own mother and Nicky Priest's boyfriend, Callum.
"It is a grim picture.
"I don't think, sadly, we will ever fully know what has happened, we'll never get that full picture, both have not admitted their own responsibility.
"One thing is clear, Nicky Priest has failed her daughter, she's failed to protect her and she should be - being a mother to that little girl - the one person who should have been able to protect her."
