A brutal boyfriend was Friday convicted of murdering an innocent toddler left in his care despite fears for her safety being repeatedly raised and ignored.
What happened
Maya Chappell, two, suffered frequent assaults at the hands of her mother’s new boyfriend Michael Daymond, 27, leaving bruises all over her body until the day he shook her to death while in a bad mood over losing his benefits.
The vulnerable youngster should never have been left in his sole care, but Maya’s mother Dana Carr, 24, was so ‘infatuated’ with Daymond she ignored warnings about the abuse he was cruelly inflicting and even covered it up to protect him.
Carr wept in the dock at Teesside Crown Court as a jury found her guilty of child cruelty and allowing a child to die in her care.
Daymond was convicted of murder and child cruelty.
Travails of the youngster
Maya, who was terrified of the bully and was filmed trying to crawl under the family TV to get away from him, had been left alone with Daymond at their home in Shotton Colliery, County Durham, when Carr went to work on 28 September last year.
The case involved a disturbing series of missed chances to save Maya from such a terrible end – with Carr turning a blind eye to family worries about the child’s mistreatment.
The girl’s father James Chappell, 25, was so concerned about the evidence of mistreatment before his eyes that he raised the alarm to Carr and even made a ‘Sarah’s Law’ inquiry to police to discover if Daymond had a history of abusive behaviour towards children, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Why Carr didn’t report to police
Carr refused to disclose any details to police about her muscular new lover, and although he had no criminal history that would have triggered police intervention, her decision to side with Daymond effectively condemned little Maya to death.
Her loyalty was totally misplaced. Daymond was a selfish womaniser who brought trouble to those around him.
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Daymond already had a daughter from a previous relationship and despite moving in with Carr soon after meeting her he clearly had no intention of staying loyal.
At the time of the murder in September last year another woman texted him to say she had gone into labour with his baby and Daymond also set up a profile for the dating site ‘Plenty of Fish.’
