Father denies shaking his baby daughter to death in Walsall home
A father has denied shaking his baby daughter to death but said there was ‘blank' moments in his memory of that night, a court has heard.
Neil Smith, 33, had been left alone with baby Hope at the family home in Walsall Wood while his wife Nicola had gone out for the evening.
But less than 10 minutes after making a FaceTime chat to check on her, Mrs Smith received a call from her husband on the evening of August 4, 2017 to say their four-month-old daughter was ‘floppy and lifeless’. Hope was taken to Walsall Manor Hospital and later to Birmingham Children's Hospital but she died some months later from catastrophic brain injuries.
Smith told the court he had been giving Hope her bottle downstairs when Nicola had left to go out, then took her upstairs to put her in her cot.
He said: “Hope was asleep when I put her down. I was going to watch the first game of the season downstairs. When I went to sit down I heard a big, loud scream from Hope.
“I rushed upstairs to get her, picked her up and brought her downstairs to calm her down. I wanted to know why she screamed, I wanted to make sure she was fine and safe. She was sobbing.
“I felt fine having the baby there while I was watching football. It did not make me frustrated or angry.
“When Nicola FaceTimed Hope was awake, she was happy - she was normal, smiling and gargling away.
“After the call she went to sleep on my lap and she made big scream. I had her on my arm and started patting her back and she went floppy on me.
“I had her in front of me and there was just nothing - she was lifeless.”
Smith added: “I don’t accept that I am responsible for Hope’s injuries. She was only in my care, I can’t explain why she had those brain injuries. I was not angry or frustrated at her she was my beautiful miracle baby.
“I was just trying to help her, trying to get her awake.
“After trying to wake her I picked her up off the floor and her head shot backwards, her eyes rolled and there was a gasp of air so I put her back to the floor to see what she was doing and she was lifeless.
“I did not shake her violently.”
Prosecuting, Miss Miranda Moore QC said Smith had not claimed he had any blanks in his memory before when giving accounts to police, paramedics, hospital and Nicola - but now claimed he did and asked how he did not know he shook Hope violently and threw her to the sofa.
Smith said: “I have been thinking about that day everyday and there are dark, blank moments that I can’t remember.
“I would never hurt my daughter. I have never shook my daughter and never would.”
Smith also denied not calling 999 straight away because he wanted to revive her without getting the emergency services involved because he knew he had shaken her and she had collapsed.
He said: “It has destroyed me. I have not got my beautiful, smiling, precious baby anymore.
“I did not deliberately injure Hope and I never would.”
When asked when handling Hope on August 4 if he intended to cause her any harm, Smith replied: “No I did not.”
Smith, of Coleridge Close, Willenhall, denies murder. The case continues.
