Our live feed has now finished.
- TODAY'S CASE IN SUMMARY
- WORKINGTON dad Reece Kelly, 31, has been jailed for murdering his four-month-old baby son Dallas by "shaking him to death."
- The baby's mother Georgia Wright, 23, was cleared of allowing or causing her son's death while both defendants were convicted of child cruelty. Kelly will serve a life sentence, with an 18-year minimum term.
- Wright was jailed for three years.
- The court heard that tragedy happened against a "disturbing background" of Dallas's parents battling with opiate drug addiction, which became a central theme of their chaotic life with their son in west Cumbria.
- The cruelty charge involved Kelly and Wright exposing their son to illicit drugs, and failing to take him to medical appointments as they prioritised sourcing illegal drugs over caring for their child, Carlisle Crown Court heard.
- Describing Kelly's violence to his son as a "the greatest betrayal of trust," Mr Justice Dove told him: "You shook your son to death, and as you shook him you intended that he should be caused really serious injury.
- "The jury were right to conclude that you murdered Dallas."
- Wright's offending was in a different category, said the judge. Referring to an earlier rib and brain injury sustained by Dallas - believed to have been inflicted by Kelly, the judge told Wright: "I have concluded that you knew or it should have been obvious, and that you neglected to obtain medical treatment causing further suffering.
- "There were multiple incidents of cruelty and neglect alongside this serious incident of cruelty, in the form of exposing him to drugs, along with the impact of the drugs you were taking on your ability to care for him.
- "He was left effectively unsupervised for lengthy periods. "
- The judge accepted that Kelly had not meant to kill his son and had immediately sought medical help when Dallas suffered the shaking related head injury; and he accepted that Wright had loved her son.
- Both defendants were trusted to care for and nurture their baby son, but the judge added: "You both betrayed that trust ."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article