Dead toddler 'attacked by father'

A father killed his 18-month-old daughter while looking after her when her mother was on her first night out, the Old Bailey has heard.

The jury was told Mark Howe, 36, from Wallington, south London, killed his daughter with a "severe blow to her stomach" that ruptured part of her gut.

He is alleged to have killed the toddler by punching, kicking or stamping on her.

Mr Howe admits causing his daughter's injuries but denies manslaughter.

The severity of the force necessary to inflict such an injury does not allow for an accident William Boyce, QC, prosecuting

He claims that while looking after his daughter on 22 December 2006 he tripped over a coffee table and fell into her stomach with his outstretched arms.

The mother did not realise how ill her daughter was until she returned from a Christmas shopping trip to buy a doll for her.

The Old Bailey heard that in an attempt to cover up the attack, Mr Howe stopped his partner from calling an ambulance.

When she went to get help from her mother he drove off with the child but was later found sitting in the vehicle outside St George's Hospital in Tooting.

Doctors tried to save the girl but she was likely to have been already dead when she arrived, the court heard.

'Tragically misfortunate'

A post-mortem examination showed that the injuries must have been caused by "an assault-type injury, by a hard punch to the stomach, a kick or a stamp", prosecuting QC William Boyce told the jury.

He said: "The severity of the force necessary to inflict such an injury does not allow for an accident."

The court heard the baby's "tragically misfortunate" mother was "very protective" of her daughter following the loss of a son who was stillborn the year before.

She had never left her daughter alone with anyone since she was born and was reluctant to leave her daughter in Mr Howe's care but was persuaded by her mother to go out for the evening with girlfriends.

Mr Howe initially told police nothing had happened to his daughter while he was babysitting but later told his partner in a letter that he had "lost his balance" and fell as a result of "drinking and smoking".

Mr Boyce said: "It is a tragedy in this case that had she been taken to a doctor, even 12 to 15 hours after he struck the blow, she could have been saved by medical intervention.

The trial was adjourned until Tuesday.