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The father of a newborn baby who died of a "catastrophic" brain injury after suffering more than 40 broken bones during repeated assaults has been found guilty of her murder.
Darcy-Leigh Jefferson had 40 rib fractures as well as broken which were caused at different times during the 10 days before she died on back in March 2022, a seven-week trial at Stafford Crown Court heard.
The baby's father, 35-year-old Sean Jefferson, of Birch Court, Walsall, was found guilty of murder and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Darcy's mother Amy Clark, 34, was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and two counts of causing or allowing serious harm to a child after charges of murder or manslaughter against her were dropped by prosecutors as closing speeches were made to the court last week.
She was not guilty of two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Jefferson, who wore a grey tracksuit and blue Adidas jacket, shook his head in the dock as the jury of eight women and four men returned their unanimous verdicts on Monday.
Clark, who wore a green jumper, black trousers and a beige coat in the dock, put her hand to her face.
'Upsetting'
Judge Mrs Justice Brunner KC said the pair would be sentenced on a date to be fixed and thanked the jury for their attention to the case.
The jury foreperson, who gave the verdicts in court, wiped her eyes as the judge thanked them for their attention to the "upsetting" case.
The trial heard Darcy, who was born five-weeks premature on February 20 2022, had been "physically assaulted on a repeated basis" and had a total of 47 rib fractures when she died of a brain injury two days after being taken to hospital on March 27 that year.
Prosecution counsel Harpreet Sandhu KC said the head injury had been caused by Darcy being shaken violently or having her head struck against a surface.
The court heard the fatal attack must have taken place between 7am and 7.18am on March 27 after Jefferson took Darcy downstairs at their then-home in Hudson Drive in Burntwood, Staffordshire.
"If Darcy had been crying before she stopped breathing, as Sean Jefferson suggested, the reality, you may think, is that Sean Jefferson put a stop to Darcy crying," Mr Sandhu told the jury in his closing speech.
"He put a stop to Darcy screaming. He did that by shaking his five-week-old daughter violently.
"As a result, his five-week-old daughter sustained a catastrophic head injury and she would have stopped breathing almost as soon as she received that fatal head injury."
During the trial, Mr Sandhu told the jury Clark was living at a "tidy and well-presented" home and gave the impression of being a mother who was in control while hiding the fact she "drank a lot of alcohol and she took cocaine".
The Crown's barrister said the background to the relationship between Jefferson, of Birch Court, Walsall, and Clark helped to explain how Darcy "came to be assaulted repeatedly and killed".
Mr Sandhu said of Clark: "The impression Amy Clark gave hid the truth.
"Beneath the veneer of the well-presented and ordered life she wanted others to believe she led, was a more chaotic existence which flowed, no doubt, from her alcohol and drug use."
In September 2021, while Clark was pregnant, the court heard Jefferson sent her a message threatening to "put you 6ft underground" if she killed her baby through drinking.
Jefferson was also a drug user, the court heard, smoking cannabis in the garage during a "volatile" relationship said to be characterised by consistent disagreements and aggression.
Both parents were taking drugs during their daughter's short life, the trial was told.
'Despicable behaviour'
Detective Chief Inspector Ian Fitzgerald, of our Major Investigations Department, said: “Today’s verdict concludes a profoundly distressing case involving the murder of five-week-old Darcy.
"Her short life and tragic death must not be forgotten.
“Darcy was violently abused and murdered by her father. Her mother allowed her death.
"These were the people who should have loved and cared for her. It was despicable behaviour against a defenceless child.
“It has been an exceptionally difficult investigation, and the thoughts of the entire investigation team remain with her elder sibling, who has faced an unimaginable loss and a lengthy judicial process.
“I wish to acknowledge the professionalism and dedication of the officers and staff who have worked so tirelessly on this case, but also the CPS prosecutor and barristers, Harpreet Sandhu Kings Counsel and Joshua Purser.”