Father Tried To Force Milk Up Eight-Week-Old Premature Baby's Nose, Then Shook Her To Death

A father has been found guilty of murder after he tortured and violently shook his premature newborn daughter to death. He also inflicted a series of injuries on the child by hitting her and by trying to force milk up her nose using a syringe.

A U.K. court convicted Micheal Roe, 32, of murder Wednesday. Eight-week-old Holly died at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in East Sussex on Sept. 10, 2018 following severe brain injuries. Holly's mother, Tiffany Tate, 22, was also found guilty of allowing her death by ignoring the abuse, BBC News reported.

Prosecutors told the court that Roe tried to inject milk up Holly's nose during a night feed. He also violently shook and hit the newborn's head, which caused a brain hemorrhage.

A week before the death, Roe squeezed the baby so hard while feeding her that her ribs were fractured. The newborn suffered another brain bleed that she stopped breathing for a short period.

Roe performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and he asked Tate not to call the police. A few days later, he injured the baby again and the baby succumbed to a fatal brain bleed. Postmortem reports showed that Holly had signs of severe injuries on her body.

"This is an absolutely tragic case involving a tiny, premature baby who had barely any time out of hospital before her death. When she was brought home by her parents, she was then subjected to appalling injuries on more than one occasion, the effects of which would have been noticed immediately by anyone caring for Holly. Instead, both her mother and father claimed that there was nothing wrong with her prior to her death," prosecutor Libby Clark said, adding that the baby would have undergone extreme pain and severely distressed.

Tate earlier confessed to the court that she had trouble bonding with her daughter even after bringing her home from the hospital. Roe did the night feeds as the mother had "no patience" with the newborn.

Tate, who grew up in care, had once told a health visitor that she felt like throwing Holly against the wall during one of the night feeds, prosecutors told the court.

Roe and Tate will be sentenced on Friday.