Man jailed for killing crying baby daughter

Christopher Sellman, 24, slammed baby Tiffany down on to a changing mat within an hour of being left to look after her on his own for the first time, Inner London Crown Court was told.

Her death in November 2008 could have been prevented if information had been shared about the risk Sellman posed to children, a serious case review by Kent Safeguarding Children Board found.

He had a conviction for assault and two other children under his care had been taken away from him and a former partner.

The baby girl, who was only 25 days old and already had a fractured skull from a difficult birth, died after suffering heart failure and bleeding to her brain.

Relatives twice sought to alert agencies that Sellman's partner, Pamela Burdge, was pregnant with Tiffany, but the information was not passed on and was never registered.

In mitigation, Sarah Forshaw QC told the court that Sellman suffered "a momentary lapse in care which occurred, in any view, in an instant".

Ms Forshaw told the court he had been "treated as something of a pariah" and assaulted twice during his year on remand.

A jury had convicted him of manslaughter but cleared him of murder in March.