Toddler's murder 'devoid of humanity', court told

The execution of a two-year-old was "gross, cruel, brutal, catastrophic and wholly devoid of humanity”, a justice astatine Belfast Crown Court was told arsenic helium considered however agelong her slayer and her parent indispensable walk successful jail.

Ali Jayden Doyle died from caput injuries she suffered astatine a location successful Park Avenue successful Dungannon successful August 2021.

Ali Jayden's parent Jade Dempsey admitted kid cruelty and is yet to beryllium sentenced.

Dempsey's on-off fellow astatine the time, 35-year-old Darryn John Armstrong, admitted the toddler's execution and was handed an automatic beingness sentence, but the minimum fig of years helium indispensable service earlier applying for parole has not yet been set.

A tariff proceeding was held astatine Belfast Crown Court connected Thursday wherever some prosecution and defence barristers work last submissions.

The tribunal heard Ali Jayden died from a catastrophic caput wounded including a fractured skull.

Armstrong, whose code was fixed arsenic HMP Maghaberry, initially blamed Ali Jayden’s one-year-old member for causing the fatal coiled by throwing a artifact astatine her, causing her to autumn backmost and deed her caput connected a fireplace.

A prosecution barrister said Armstrong aboriginal changed his communicative during abstracted constabulary interviews and said helium threw the kid and she deed her caput connected the fireplace.

He said helium had been nether the power of drugs and his dogs had tally into the location and startled the children.

The barrister said the slayer changed his communicative again and said helium had nary recollection of what happened, but admitted responsibility.

The tribunal heard that according to a study from a pathologist, the terrible injuries sustained were the effect of blunt force.

A study from a doc successful neurosurgery said they “could envision a script wherever the kid was grabbed by its torso and slammed down…with a superior grade of force”.

The barrister said owed to the severity of the injuries sustained: "There couldn’t person been immoderate different volition but to termination successful this case”.

The tribunal heard that connected the time of the murder, Dempsey near her children successful Armstrong’s attraction portion she near to spell to Belfast to bargain a pram.

Shortly afterwards she received a WhatsApp video from Armstrong, showing Ali Jayden sitting watching TV.

But astir 15 minutes aboriginal portion waiting astatine the autobus station, Dempsey was called to instrumentality home.

The prosecution barrister outlined however the ambulance work arrived to Ali Jayden unconscious, laying connected the chamber floor.

Her hairsbreadth was bedewed and a towel was wrapped astir her.

The prosecution barrister told the tribunal that Armstrong had said the kid was burning up and helium was trying to revive her by putting h2o connected her.

They besides outlined however a neighbour described proceeding “three screeches” coming from Armstrong’s location astatine astir the clip of the execution but that the sound past stopped.

The tribunal heard that Dempsey’s children, including Ali Jayden, had been connected the kid extortion registry astatine the clip of her death.

A extortion bid was besides successful spot preventing Armstrong from being successful interaction with oregon adjacent the children owed to his transgression history.

He has 77 erstwhile convictions including home unit offences.

Armstrong was besides connected probation for home unit offences.

Judge Mr Justice McAlinden said the brace had taken a "deliberate decision" to disregard the extortion program successful spot by societal services.

He added that helium wanted to nonstop a connection retired to others successful akin situations that “there volition beryllium consequences to those that breach them”.

A defence barrister for Armstrong said helium was not successful disagreement with the prosecution and that they accepted the suspect was responsible.

“At the centre of this lawsuit is simply a young kid that suffered a catastrophic fracture which was the effect of a precocious interaction stroke caused by the defendant”, the defence barrister said.

He besides outlined however Armstrong came from a “remarkably dysfunctional” background, increasing up successful attraction and being exposed to home unit and guardians with cause and intoxicant addictions.

The defence barrister said Armstrong’s cause usage resulted successful him “losing control” connected the time that Ali Jayden was murdered.

After submissions were made by the prosecution and defence, Mr Justice McAlinden said helium needed clip to bespeak connected what helium heard and would condemnation Dempsey and acceptable a minimum tariff for Dempsey astatine a aboriginal date.