Maya Chappell: Evidence overwhelming man killed girl - prosecutors

Maya Chappell died in hospital two days after collapsing at her Shotton Colliery home

The evidence that a man murdered his new girlfriend's two-year-old daughter is "overwhelming", a court has heard.

Michael Daymond, 27, denies killing Maya Chappell in Shotton Colliery, County Durham in September 2022.

In closing speeches at Teesside Crown Court, prosecutors said her fatal head injury was non-accidental and could only have been caused by Mr Daymond.

Maya's mother Dana Carr, 24, denies causing or allowing her daughter's death.

The court has heard Mr Daymond and Ms Chappell began a relationship nine weeks before Maya's death and he was the only person with the girl when she collapsed at about 15:30 BST on 28 September.

Maya was airlifted to Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary where doctors noticed a large number of bruises to her head.

'Ignored warning signs'

She died two days later having never regained consciousness with pathologists finding she died from an "inflicted head injury" consistent with having been forcefully shaken with her skull possibly hitting a hard surface.

Prosecutor Benjamin Nolan KC said all the doctors and pathologists agreed Maya's fatal injuries were "non-accidental" or "deliberately inflicted" moments before her collapse.

He said Mr Daymond was the only person with Maya and the case against him was "compellable to the point of being overwhelming".

He said Maya was an "utterly defenceless child" and her injuries were inflicted with the "utmost brutality".

Mr Nolan said concerned relatives had noticed an increase in bruises on Maya but when she was challenged about them, Ms Carr "woefully understated" the injuries.

He said she "deliberately chose to ignore the many warning signs which she must have observed" while her "infatuation with Michael Daymond made her neglect Maya and fail in her maternal duty of care".

Dana Carr denies allowing the death of her daughter Maya Chappell

In his closing speech, Nicholas Lumley KC representing Mr Daymond said Maya "should not have died" and "did not deserve to do so".

He told jurors every one of them "no doubt hated child cruelty and despised those people who were cruel to children" and Mr Daymond was someone in which they may want to "focus that understandable loathing and disgust".

But, he said, the evidence was not strong enough to prove him guilty of murder.

Mr Lumley said Maya died from "unusual" and "complex head injuries" and went from "being lively to lifeless in no time".

'Why call 999?'

He said each medical expert had said the violence sufficient to kill her "could have been over in moments" and in a "single episode".

"If Michael Daymond had wanted to kill Maya or wanted to hurt her so badly as to be guilty of murder, there were many other ways he could have done it rather than this freakish, weird route," Mr Lumley said, adding: "Shaking a fit toddler is not an obvious way to commit murder."

He said Mr Daymond called 999, adding "why call for help, why bring trouble to your door if you knew you had intentionally harmed that little girl?"

Mr Lumley told jurors: "There was no motive or obvious reason for him to have acted with such a murderous intention as the prosecution want you to believe."

He said jurors may feel Mr Daymond, who "denies any responsibility for anything", had some explaining to do and they may decide a guilty verdict for manslaughter could be "proper", but he was "not a murderer".

Both defendants also deny child cruelty.

The trial continues.