Father 'killed baby daughter in fit of temper while wife ate dinner downstairs'

A Father killed his eight-month-old daughter in a fit of temper while his wife ate dinner downstairs, a court heard yesterday.

Scott Harman, 25, shook Jessica Harman repeatedly and banged her head against a bedpost because she had been crying more loudly and for longer then usual, it is claimed.

Lewes Crown Court heard that a post-mortem examination found that Jessica had suffered 15 previous rib injuries, which also contributed to her death.

Anthony Evans, QC, prosecuting, said: "We all know babies cry. That's what they do. We can all get annoyed by it. But what Mr Harman did to stop this baby crying is what led to her death."

He claimed that Harman - who the court heard was "hot-headed" and had been recommended for anger management sessions - attacked his daughter on April 1, 2004, after arriving home from work.

Mr Evans said: "We say common sense as well as the medical evidence will drive you to the conclusion that Jessica died as a result of what her father did to her when he was upstairs, probably when she was crying more loudly and for longer than was normal."

He said that the jury would hear not only about Jessica's death but about other injuries she suffered during her short life.

"Jessica had suffered 15 fractures to her ribs, caused by extremely powerful squeezing, over a number of weeks," he added.

"Even with a child as small as Jessica, the pressure needed to crack ribs is considerable.

"It does not result from playful cuddling.

"This is certainly not a case of clumsy handling. These fractures were caused deliberately."

Jurors heard that Harman and his wife Nicola, 33 - who has two children from previous relationships - had a "somewhat boring" marriage but grew closer when she became pregnant with prematurely-born Jessica.

Because finances were tight, Mrs Harman returned to work shortly after Jessica's birth, leaving her in the care of the couple's mothers during the week.

On the day Jessica died, she had been looked after by Mrs Harman's disabled mother.

She was then taken back to the family home in Horam, East Sussex.

At around 7pm, Harman took his daughter upstairs to bed while his wife cooked dinner.

It was during the next 30 minutes, the Crown maintains, that Harman inflicted the fatal injuries on his daughter.

Mr Evans said: "The child was crying and was grizzly as they went upstairs.

"Mrs Harman continued to cook downstairs and from the kitchen she could still hear the child grizzling.

"Downstairs there was Nicola and her son, and upstairs was the defendant and Jessica, and he remained upstairs while the others were eating their meal.

"While they were eating, Nicola noticed it was quiet.

"It is the Crown's case that Jessica was quiet because she had, by that time, sustained the injuries and the damage that caused her death."

The court heard how, after being called down to dinner, Harman replied that "something was wrong with Jessica" but did not sound alarmed.

When his wife went upstairs she found the baby "floppy, grey and gasping for breath".

An ambulance was called, but despite attempts to resuscitate Jessica, she died at Eastbourne District General Hospital that evening.

When spoken to by police Harman claimed the child had been sick over him and she had been crying as he tried to put her to bed.

He then said that having left for a few seconds he returned to find her "limp and staring at him and she was blue and breathing sporadically".

Both Harman and his wife were arrested on suspicion of cruelty but police took no action.

However, after an inquest into Jessica's death in February 2006, the case was reopened and Harman was arrested and charged.

Harman has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and three charges of child cruelty between January and April 2004.