Cambridgeshire man found guilty of murdering 11-week-old baby boy Teddie Mitchell
A Cambridgeshire man has been found guilty of murdering an 11-week-old baby boy, who suffered a fractured skull and a bleed to the brain.
Kane Mitchell, 31, inflicted multiple injuries on Teddie Mitchell at his home in St Neots.
It led to Teddie’s death at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge on November 11, 2019.
The baby’s mother, Lucci Smith, 29, of Pattison Court, St Neots, was acquitted on charges of causing or allowing death and serious injury, but found guilty of neglect.
It followed a four-week trial at Cambridge Crown Court which was told how the baby suffered rough handling and neglect throughout his short life.
Mitchell, of no fixed address but formerly of St Neots, wrongly believed he was Teddie’s biological father.
He had been in a relationship with Smith for about eight months and lived together with Teddie.
An ambulance was called at 3pm on November 1, 2019, to Pattison Court, where Teddie was unresponsive and in cardiac arrest.
Smith had left Teddie in Mitchell’s care while she did the morning school run.
But when she returned, she noticed Teddie was lethargic and wouldn’t take his bottle.
She contacted a GP after Teddie’s condition deteriorated and they advised her to call 999 - but she waited about half an hour before doing so.
Teddie was rushed to the special care baby unit at Hinchingbrooke Hospital in Huntingdon, where doctors discovered he had a fractured skull and a significant bleed on the brain.
There was concern from officers and medical staff about how Teddie received his injuries, and Mitchell and Smith were arrested at the hospital.
Teddie was later transferred for a specialist neurology assessment at Addenbrooke’s, where he was placed in intensive care on life support. But doctors concluded that he would not recover.
Medical staff kept Teddie stable on a life support machine but, after 11 days, a decision was made to withdraw it and Teddie died shortly after.
A post mortem revealed he died as a result of his fractured skull and lack of oxygen to the brain.
The trial heard statements from neighbours who said they had heard regular arguments and the household had been unsettled since Mitchell moved in there.
In police interview, Mitchell said he believed he was Teddie’s biological father, but DNA results following the death revealed he was not.
He could not explain how Teddie suffered his fatal injuries and nor could Smith, who told police she was in a loving relationship with Mitchell and they rarely argued.
After two days of deliberation, the jury returned their verdicts today (January 14). Mitchell and Smith will be sentenced on February 5 at Cambridge Crown Court.
Det Insp Lucy Thomson, from the Beds Cambs and Herts Major Crime Unit, said: “This is a tragic and terrible case in which an 11-week-old baby lost his life at the hands of a person who should have been there to protect him.
“Our investigation found that Teddie had suffered multiple injuries during his short life which neither Mitchell or Smith could account for.
“The verdict won’t bring Teddie back, but it does bring some justice for what he endured.”
Visit the force website at cambs.police.uk/childprotection for information on child abuse.Anyone who has concerns about child abuse should contact police on 101 (or report online at www.cambs.police.uk/report), children’s social care or the NSPCC. If a child is in immediate danger always call 999.
Read more
21-year-old Cambridge man caught with ‘paedophile manual’ and 15,000 indecent images of children
