Murder-accused dad 'cannot remember shaking baby'

Everleigh was admitted to hospital aged five weeks and died when she was 14 months old

A father accused of murdering his daughter said he cannot remember picking up and shaking her on the night she suffered the injuries leading to her death.

Thomas Holford admits the manslaughter of Everleigh Stroud, when the five-week-old baby spent the night alone with him in the bedroom he shared with the her teenage mother in Ramsgate.

Everleigh suffered broken ribs and legs and severe brain damage and died when her life support was withdrawn just over a year after the incident, which happened in April 2021.

Eloise Marshall KC, prosecuting, demonstrated with her hands how an expert witness said the baby would have been held, adding it would be "pretty obvious" that the hold would cause "really serious harm".

Mr Holford replied, "Yes I would imagine so".

When asked if his actions were intentional he said: "I'm not sure. I don't know how to answer that. I can't remember."

He then denied Ms Marshall's claim that he "just doesn't want to have to tell us" what happened to Everleigh.

'Significant or extreme'

Earlier in the trial Mr Holford, 24, admitted lying to police about his cannabis use, saying he had five joints before being left in charge of Everleigh.

Jurors were also shown text messages he had sent to a contact in a bid to buy more drugs because he had "the little one on my own tonight" and it was going to be "stressful".

Dr Jeremy Jones, a paediatric radiologist, said it would require "significant or extreme force" to cause the leg fractures seen on Everleigh, and that they could not happen in normal or rough play-handling of a baby.

Both prosecution and defence accepted the injuries were caused by shaking.

The trial at Canterbury Crown Court continues.