Shane Heighway, aged 38, of Porth-y-Waen, Oswestry, Shropshire, has been released from prison after serving only a matter of months behind bars for attempting to smother an eight-month-old baby.
The conviction follows an investigation by West Mercia Police into an incident that occurred in August 2024, described by detectives as an unprovoked and violent assault on a defenceless child.
The attack was captured on a nursery baby monitor installed inside the property.
The video recording showed Heighway entering the room, forcibly pulling the eight-month-old infant from the cot, and assaulting the child.
Heighway then placed his hands directly over the infant’s face and airway in an effort to suffocate the sleeping baby.
Medical evidence presented during the court proceedings indicated that the child was extraordinarily fortunate that the trauma inflicted did not result in fatal consequences or leave permanent, life-limiting damage.
Appearing at Shrewsbury Crown Court in October 2025, Heighway formally admitted his actions, entering guilty pleas to:
- Child cruelty
- Intentional suffocation
The presiding judge handed down a custodial sentence of two years and two months (26 months).
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing legislation governing standard determinate custodial sentences, an individual is entitled to statutory release on licence at the halfway stage (13 months). Because Heighway had accumulated substantial time in custody while remanded awaiting plea and sentence, coupled with early release mechanisms, his time served surpassed the custodial threshold required by law, resulting in his immediate release from prison to serve the remainder of the sentence under community probation supervision.
Image Credit – Anonymous
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