Australian Teenage Father Gets 10 Years For Beating New-Born Child To Death Out Of ‘Jealousy’

The Western Australian teenage father, who had earlier beaten his child to death, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. The 16-year-old reportedly inflicted “the most severe head and brain injuries” to the baby.

According to court hearings, the teenagers beat his new-born child out of jealousy. The teenage father’s baby boy passed away at Bunbury Regional Hospital in February 2014. When the teenager bashed the head of the 25-day-old infant, he was 15 at the time. He banged the baby’s head against a wall or a doorframe while he was left alone with the baby. It was during the period when the 16-year-old mother of the child prepared to get the baby discharged from hospital. The baby died at Princess Margaret Hospital nine days after it had suffered two fractures to its skull.

The teenage father pleaded guilty to the lesser offence of manslaughter after he had been charged with murder. However, the accused did not provide any explanation to his actions. According to State prosecutor Matthew Walton, the teenager suggested to some that the nursing staff had been responsible for it while he told some that it had been an accident.

Court hearings indicate that the teenage father had “intense” and “insular” relation with the mother of the child. There are indications that he may have felt competitive with his new-born son.

Psychological reports suggest that the father may have been jealous of the child for stealing all the attention from the mother. "That jealousy was stemming from the attention being drained away from him, to his new-born son," Walton said.

Lawyer Jim Sutherland, who worked in the accused’s defence, said that the teenager had a disturbed childhood. Sutherland argued that his client was also under substance abuse. According to Judge Denis Reynolds, the actions of the teenager were "cowardly in the extreme." He pointed out that the infant was “defenceless” while being “at the mercy” of his father.

The judge said that he is surprised to find that the teenager, with a criminal history, had been allowed to get to the baby without any supervision. The father was under the care of the Department for Child Protection when he committed the crime.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au