Murdered toddler
Mum's boyfriend jailed for murdering little toddler who called him 'Daddy'
Garreth Murphy
A man who murdered his partner's toddler as she sat in her high chair has been jailed for life.
Two-year-old Grace Thorpe was left in the care of his mother's then-boyfriend Adam Jackson, who had been encouraged to call him 'Daddy'.
Instead of minding her, Jackson erupted into a 'spontaneous eruption of uncontrolled violence' against his partner's two-year-old daughter.
Jackson was in sole care of the little girl at her mother's home in New Marske, Cleveland, England in November 2020, when he hit her at least seven times. Grace suffered a fractured skull, broke her left leg and caused serious internal injuries. (Pic: PA)
Fighting back the tears, Gracie's mum read an emotional victim impact statement in court: 'Nothing justifies the horrible things you have done to my baby, an innocent two-year-old, who would have woken up happy to see you, and you inflicted a brutal attack on her for no reason.'
Jackson was in sole care of the little girl at her mother's home in New Marske, Cleveland, England in November 2020, when he hit her at least seven times. Grace suffered a fractured skull, broke her left leg and caused serious internal injuries.
She died in a specialist unit in hospital two days later.
Jackson did not immediately call 999, but when he did he claimed Grace had fallen from her high chair, a story he stuck to until post-mortem evidence proved it was false.
Jackson admitted murder and was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 16-and-a-half years.
Nick Dry, prosecuting, said: 'The findings of the experts ruled out accidental causation of her injuries and pointed clearly instead to their deliberate infliction.'
Fighting back the tears, Gracie's mum read an emotional victim impact statement in court: 'Nothing justifies the horrible things you have done to my baby, an innocent two-year-old, who would have woken up happy to see you, and you inflicted a brutal attack on her for no reason.' (Pic: PA)
The prosecution said Grace was born in June 2018 and her mother, Alice Quine, split up from the little girl's father and moved in with her own mother.
She began a relationship with Jackson a year before the murder. Family and friends initially liked him, and he moved in with her after lockdown.
Mr Dry said Jackson would become bad-tempered if he did not have money for cannabis, which he used every day.
Hair samples from Grace showed she had been exposed to cannabis and cocaine, the court heard, and Ms Quine had previously asked him to leave the house before they got back together.
She had gone to work on the day Jackson murdered Grace, Mr Dry said.
The emergency services were to find the toddler injured, cold and wearing only a nappy.
Jackson claimed she had fallen from her high chair, saying it had a faulty strap.
Traffic officer uniform, reflective yellow color
Tests later found it was safe, and forensic experts found that Grace had breathed out blood on to the tray, showing she was sitting in the chair while she was attacked.
Ms Quine read a victim statement to the court, saying the loss of her daughter had a devastating effect on the whole family.
And she asked the defendant, who had his head bowed in the dock, why he had not just handed over care of Grace to someone else that day.
Peter Makepeace QC, defending, said Jackson, who has no previous convictions, did not intend to kill Grace, saying it had been a 'spontaneous eruption of uncontrolled violence'.
Judge Howard Crowson said Jackson was guilty of a gross breach of trust.
Outside court, temporary Detective Chief Inspector Peter Carr, said: 'Instead of looking after and caring for her, he assaulted her, causing her fatal injuries.
'When professionals questioned how Grace had sustained her injuries, Jackson lied.'
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