Keegan Downer murder: Legal guardian Kandyce Downer jailed for life Published duration 4 May 2016

image caption Kandyce Downer became the legal guardian of Keegan Downer in January 2015

A woman who murdered a toddler she had subjected to "barbaric" abuse in her care has been jailed for life.

Kandyce Downer, 34, killed 18-month-old Keegan Downer less than a year after she was appointed her legal guardian.

The toddler had 153 scars and bruises and suffered what police described as "barbaric and evil" treatment, sustaining brain and spinal injuries.

Downer, who must serve at least 18 years, told Birmingham Crown Court her eldest son had caused the injuries.

Keegan died on 5 September 2015. Before calling 999, Downer dumped her blood-spotted mattress, the court heard.

Forensic testing at the house revealed traces of the girl'sblood in her cot and on the bedroom wall.

A post-mortem examination revealed the toddler died from a combination of old head injuries, septicaemia and blunt chest trauma but had suffered a catalogue of injuries in her life.

Mrs Justice Frances Patterson told Downer: "It is a horrible tale of callous conduct and at no stage have you showed any remorse.

image copyright West Midlands Police image caption Kandyce Downer had denied murder

"Why you changed from a loving mother to a brutal attacker of a defenceless child is a mystery.

"You did not set out with the intention to kill Keegan but the repeated assaults on her made death as an outcome of your conduct increasingly likely passage of time."

She concluded: "Keegan suffered considerably in the last days and months of her