This is Plymouth --
THE FORMER partner of a father convicted of killing their baby daughter today said: "He is a monster. I hope he rots."
Benjamin Roach, aged 24, faces a long jail sentence after he was convicted by a jury of the manslaughter of four-week-old Roxie Hopkins-Roach.
Roach shook the helpless baby violently and then threw her down so hard she suffered fatal brain injuries, Plymouth Crown Court heard.
Mum Kelly Hopkins said after the verdict that she hoped her former partner rotted in jail.
Speaking exclusively to The Herald, she said: "I don't think he has realised how much he has destroyed my life."
Judge Graham Cottle remanded Roach in custody after he was found guilty following a two-week trial.
A jury of seven men and five women took less than two hours to find Roach guilty.
Roach appeared to be holding back the tears as members of Kelly's family clapped and whooped with joy and relief in a packed public gallery.
The jury heard that Kelly had left baby Roxie in Roach's care at the Staddiscombe home they shared on September 23, 2010.
She returned from the supermarket after a matter of minutes to find paramedics at her door and Roxie fighting for her life.
The girl, born on August 27, died at Derriford Hospital the following day.
The jury heard from doctors who convinced them that Roxie's injuries could not have been caused accidentally.
One medical expert said that the contusion, or bruise, at the front of Roxie's brain was similar to one that might be seen as a result of a road traffic accident.
But Roach, of Tailyour Road, Crownhill, denied manslaughter. He claimed he had dropped Roxie accidentally on to a carpeted floor. He admitted he had then shaken the baby to try to revive her – but the jury quickly dismissed his story as a pack of lies.
Bernard Tetlow, for Roach, said after the verdict that he would mitigate on the basis that he had suffered a "short-term loss of control", with Roach previously treating Roxie well.
Comment: Page 11 Reported by This is 22 hours ago.
THE FORMER partner of a father convicted of killing their baby daughter today said: "He is a monster. I hope he rots."
Benjamin Roach, aged 24, faces a long jail sentence after he was convicted by a jury of the manslaughter of four-week-old Roxie Hopkins-Roach.
Roach shook the helpless baby violently and then threw her down so hard she suffered fatal brain injuries, Plymouth Crown Court heard.
Mum Kelly Hopkins said after the verdict that she hoped her former partner rotted in jail.
Speaking exclusively to The Herald, she said: "I don't think he has realised how much he has destroyed my life."
Judge Graham Cottle remanded Roach in custody after he was found guilty following a two-week trial.
A jury of seven men and five women took less than two hours to find Roach guilty.
Roach appeared to be holding back the tears as members of Kelly's family clapped and whooped with joy and relief in a packed public gallery.
The jury heard that Kelly had left baby Roxie in Roach's care at the Staddiscombe home they shared on September 23, 2010.
She returned from the supermarket after a matter of minutes to find paramedics at her door and Roxie fighting for her life.
The girl, born on August 27, died at Derriford Hospital the following day.
The jury heard from doctors who convinced them that Roxie's injuries could not have been caused accidentally.
One medical expert said that the contusion, or bruise, at the front of Roxie's brain was similar to one that might be seen as a result of a road traffic accident.
But Roach, of Tailyour Road, Crownhill, denied manslaughter. He claimed he had dropped Roxie accidentally on to a carpeted floor. He admitted he had then shaken the baby to try to revive her – but the jury quickly dismissed his story as a pack of lies.
Bernard Tetlow, for Roach, said after the verdict that he would mitigate on the basis that he had suffered a "short-term loss of control", with Roach previously treating Roxie well.
Comment: Page 11 Reported by This is 22 hours ago.