The Birmingham Child Killer, Kandyce Downer, will be out in 10 years, little Keegan won’t be around to see it though. During sentencing, Mrs Justice Frances Patterson told Downer: “It is a horrible tale of callous conduct and at no stage have you, Kandyce Downer, showed any remorse.
“Why you changed from a loving mother to a brutal attacker of a defenceless child is a mystery.”
The judge described Downer as “vicious and unfeeling”, and told the court the injuries Keegan had suffered were so severe they would have caused brain damage and affected her development when she was older.
Mrs Justice Patterson added: “The bruising and injuries to Keegan’s face, head and frenuli (mouth tissue) would have been evident to her carers.
“These injuries would have been caused by a hard slap, a punch, or forcing a feeding bottle into her mouth.
“Keegan suffered considerably in the last days and months of her life.”
A Serious Case Review is under way following Keegan’s death, and the NSPCC has called on the investigation to examine why a Special Guardianship Order was used to place the vulnerable toddler with Downer.
“Little Keegan did not deserve to be treated so abhorrently in her short life,” a spokesman for the charity added.
“We hope this sentence will serve as a warning to deter others who would subject children in their care to such astonishing cruelty.”
Following the conviction, Detective Inspector Harry Harrison had said: “What Downer subjected Keegan to was barbaric, inhuman and evil.
“The death of one so young is always tragic, but it is horrifying to think of the amount of violence and suffering this young child must have endured in the last few months of her short life in the hands of someone she should have been able to trust.”
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