Father jailed for murdering his five-week-old son by breaking his neck

Baby Ollie Davis had been found with 40 bone fractures including 23 to his ribs

A father who murdered his five-week-old son through a horrific campaign of violent abuse has been jailed for life.

Michael Davis’s attacks on his son, Ollie, left the newborn baby with 40 bone fractures, including breaks to the skull, collar bone, joints in both arms and legs and 23 rib fractures.

The baby boy was found unresponsive at his home in Leicester in 2017 and later died in hospital, with a post-mortem confirming his death was from the delayed effects of a broken neck.

Baby Ollie Davis suffered 40 bone fractures (Leicestershire Police/PA Wire)

It is believed this fatal injury had occurred up to eight days before his death, and had led to the compression of the spinal cord which had caused him to stop breathing.

Ollie’s mother Kayleigh Driver was also jailed for seven years for allowing the death of her child, with the judge stating that she must have heard her son’s cries of pain given that they shared a bedroom.

During his police interviews, 29-year-old Davis offered no explanation for how his son had suffered these injuries, and was seen shrugging his shoulders and telling officers: “I haven’t got any idea of how this might have happened, no.”

Following a trial, he was convicted of murder and has now been jailed for life with a minimum term of 22 years.

Michael Davis gave no explanation during police interviews (Leicestershire Police/PA Wire)

After saying he was sure that Davis had caused all the injuries during four separate overnight “episodes” of violence, Mr Justice Cotter added: “At least five different mechanisms were required to cause this terrible array of injuries.

“Michael Davis, I have no doubt that during the night you became frustrated and angry and this led to terrible violence.

“You assaulted him on multiple occasions. The attacks in their various forms were also brutal – in particular the fatal neck injury.”

In not seeking medical help, Davis had shown “callous indifference” to Ollie’s suffering, the judge also said.

Kayleigh Driver was jailed for seven years for allowing the death of her child (Leicestershire Police)

Sentencing Driver, Mr Justice Cotter told the 31-year-old: “You must have heard Ollie’s cries after he was assaulted, as you were together in the bedroom. This must have woken you up.”

It later emerged that social services did not take early opportunities to assess the family despite the significant previous involvement both parents had had with children’s social care.

In a report compiled by Leicester Safeguarding Children Partnership Board in 2017, they said that while the abuse suffered by Ollie was not forseeable, there were lessons to be learned from the case.

Kayleigh Driver was cleared of murder but found guilty of causing or allowing the death of her child (Matthew Cooper/PA Wire)

It found that there had been a lack of “professional curiosity” about Davis’s history and circumstances, and that certain contacts and referrals about Ollie had not been treated with “sufficient care, thoroughness and gravity”.

Ollie’s mother was found not guilty of murder and was also cleared of a separate charge of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

The prosecution of the couple was delayed by complex medical evidence and health issues suffered by Driver, who appeared for sentence on a mobility scooter due to a chronic neurological condition.

Ricky Driver, Ollie’s grandfather, said in a statement prepared for the sentencing hearing: “On the 21 October 2017 we were awaken to the sad news of Ollie’s sudden death and concluded that it was a probably a cot death. A day none of us will forget.

“After further examination by experts, we were horrified to find out there were suspicious circumstances regarding Ollie`s death.

“The police arrested Kayleigh and Michael for questioning – this shook the family to the core. Over time the injuries were made public, and we couldn’t believe what we were being told.

“Ollie was perfect in every way when he was born. He had been beaten badly over time and was left to die with his injuries.

“This was our worst nightmare. How could anybody hurt a beautiful baby was beyond words.

“We felt sick to our stomachs, and we have shed many a tear thinking what Ollie went through in his final days.”