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Kemarni Watson Darby: Mum and partner jailed after boy's murder | |
(32 minutes later) | |
Alicia Watson and Nathaniel Pope blamed each other for Kemarni's death | Alicia Watson and Nathaniel Pope blamed each other for Kemarni's death |
A man who murdered his partner's three-year-old son after inflicting more than 20 rib fractures over weeks of beatings has been jailed for at least 24 years. | A man who murdered his partner's three-year-old son after inflicting more than 20 rib fractures over weeks of beatings has been jailed for at least 24 years. |
Jurors heard Nathaniel Pope caused injuries to Kemarni Watson Darby comparable to a car crash. | Jurors heard Nathaniel Pope caused injuries to Kemarni Watson Darby comparable to a car crash. |
Along with Pope's life term, Kemarni's mother Alicia Watson received 11 years at Birmingham Crown Court for causing or allowing Kemarni's death. | Along with Pope's life term, Kemarni's mother Alicia Watson received 11 years at Birmingham Crown Court for causing or allowing Kemarni's death. |
Mrs Justice Tipples said he had died after "a severe and sustained assault". | Mrs Justice Tipples said he had died after "a severe and sustained assault". |
Warning - this article contains distressing content. | |
The judge told 32-year-old Pope it would "have caused extreme distress and pain and that would have been obvious to you". | The judge told 32-year-old Pope it would "have caused extreme distress and pain and that would have been obvious to you". |
"Kemarni was not your son and he did not mean anything to you. You saw him as a nuisance who got in the way of your relationship," she said. | "Kemarni was not your son and he did not mean anything to you. You saw him as a nuisance who got in the way of your relationship," she said. |
The judge told the former warehouse worker she was sure he had been under the influence of cannabis when he killed the three-year-old in June 2018. | |
Judge Mrs Justice Tipples said the physical abuse of Kemarni "became an accepted course of conduct in the flat." | Judge Mrs Justice Tipples said the physical abuse of Kemarni "became an accepted course of conduct in the flat." |
Pope has previous convictions for burglary and possession of heroin with intent to supply. In 2011 he was jailed for four months for an attack on a young mother on a London bus. | |
The judge told Watson, 31, she had known Pope had been injuring Kemarni with punches and kicks and had done nothing to stop it; and she had also "regularly beat him hard" with her hands. | |
During the trial, it emerged Watson had bought cannabis and spent money on driving lessons, as Kemarni lost his nursery place due to lack of funds. | |
Mrs Justice Tipples said it had been "a particularly distressing and tragic case". | |
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Kemarni Watson Darby suffered harrowing injuries, a detective says | |
Pathologists found four rib fractures on Kemarni which they believe were caused up to four weeks before he was killed at his home in Beaconview Road, West Bromwich. | |
The trial was told Kemarni would already have been in pain from serious injuries when, hours before he was beaten to death, he was taken by Watson to a walk-in health centre, where he was given medicine for a suspected stomach bug. | |
Kemarni's father Darren Darby told the start of the sentencing hearing on Monday Pope and Watson had left him suffering "a true life sentence". | |
In a statement about Kemarni, he said: "He had the potential to be so much. I will not get to be involved in the key moments of his life." | In a statement about Kemarni, he said: "He had the potential to be so much. I will not get to be involved in the key moments of his life." |
Pope, from Wolverhampton, and Watson, of Handsworth, Birmingham, were also found guilty of child cruelty charges. | |
Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk | Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: newsonline.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk |