Man jailed for eight years for killing baby who cried while he was playing computer game #TheElitePartyinJuly #IRepEntertain9jarBlog via @myentertain9jar

A FATHER has been jailed for eight years for killing his baby daughter after she cried as he tried to play a computer game.

 

Mark Sandland claimed he had suffered a fit [PA]

Mark Sandland, 28, sobbed as he was sentenced for picking up five-week-old Aimee-Rose by her torso and shaking her during a sudden loss of temper.

He claimed he suffered an epileptic fit and came round to find his daughter underneath him at their flat in Church Road in St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex.

Police who attended the flat after Aimee-Rose was admitted to hospital on November 5, 2012, found a PlayStation game controller on the sofa opposite the TV.

Prosecutor Sally Howes QC told Lewes Crown Court on Monday that Sandland's mobile phone internet history showed he logged on to a website offering tips on how to play Assassin's Creed 3 on his PlayStation.

Some 16 minutes after Sandland logged on to the website giving tips on Assassin's Creed 3, he dialled 999.

The detail of the website, giving step-by-step instruction, meant there would have been little point accessing it unless the game was being played, she added.

On the day of the fatal attack, Aimee-Rose's mother was attending her first class for an applied social science degree at the University of Brighton's Hastings campus.

During a break at around lunchtime, she sent Sandland a text message asking after Aimee-Rose, to which he replied: 'She hasn't shut up since about half an hour after you left.'

Sandland was charged with murder but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of lack of intent, which was accepted by the Crown.

Sentencing him at Hove Crown Court, Judge Mr Justice Sweeney said that after he inflicted the injuries, Sandland lied and sought to cover up his actions.

Sandland was jailed for eight years at Lewes Crown Court [SOLENT]

You pretended on the phone that you had a fit; you turned off the television to cover up the fact that you had been on the PlayStation

Mr Justice Sweeney

Aimee-Rose's injuries included bruising to her face, chest, abdomen, hip and lower limbs. She also suffered a range of other injuries, including subdural haemorrhages in a number of locations.

Mr Justice Sweeney told him: "Whilst you have no recollection now of the fatal incident, it's obvious that at the time you appreciated what you had done and in consequence lied and sought to cover up what had actually happened.

"You pretended on the phone that you had a fit. You turned off the television to cover up the fact that you had been on the PlayStation.

"Thereafter you continued to lie and cover up to those who were trying to treat Aimee-Rose, although I stress that they wouldn't have done anything different if you had told the truth, and to the police."

Dr Hannah Cock, a consultant neurologist, found it was "highly unlikely" that a seizure was a substantial contributor to Aimee-Rose's injuries.

If he had suffered a seizure, Dr Cock would have expected him to drop anything he was holding and remember later.

Following sentencing, Detective Inspector Jon Fanner, of the Surrey and Sussex major crime team, said: "My thoughts and sympathies are with the family of Aimee-Rose.

"Mark Sandland denied the charge of murder but accepted that he was responsible for her death and has admitted manslaughter.

"In fact, he had a sudden loss of temper while he was looking after his five-week-old baby daughter in her own home.

"I welcome the plea to manslaughter. The judge found there were significant aggravating circumstances and today he has been sentenced to eight years in prison."

A statement issued by Sandland's solicitor, Gerard Maye, of Brighton-based Gerard Maye Legal, said: "He wishes to reiterate, once again, his sincere, deepest regret and remorse for the circumstances surrounding his baby daughter's death.

"No words can express the level of distress and anguish which he, his close family and friends have endured since his arrest."