Father who shook baby daughter to death has murder sentence increased

The sentence of the father who shook his daughter to death was increased.

Thomas Holford was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 16 years at Canterbury Crown Court in July after being found guilty of murdering his daughter Everleigh Stroud by shaking her so hard that she suffered brain damage.

Everleigh, who is five weeks old, was left alone in her father’s care on the night of April 20, 2021, when Holford shook her with “excessive and violent” force.

The incident, which took place at her grandparents’ home in Ramsgate, Kent, left Everleigh with brain and bone injuries.

He was hospitalized for more than a year before dying on May 27, 2022, at the age of 14 months.

Crown prosecutor Ellie Reeves described Holford’s sentence at the Court of Appeal in September as “overly lenient”.

Lawyers told a hearing Tuesday that aggravating features in the case, including that Holford was “extremely intoxicated from marijuana” at the time of the fatal attack on Everleigh, “significantly outweigh available mitigation measures.”

In a decision at the Court of Appeal, three senior judges agreed to increase the minimum length of Holford’s sentence by two years.

Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Sheldon and Mr Justice Calver, said: “He was aware that his ability to control himself might be impaired if he took significant amounts of cannabis.

“Yet she did so deliberately, knowing that she would be the sole caregiver for her five-week-old daughter the next night.”

He continued: “As events emerged, he was therefore taking risks with his life that he had no right to take. This is a serious aggravating factor.”

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Crown prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward KC said in written submissions that Holford, now 25 and 20 when he attacked Everleigh, was a regular cannabis user.

She had been seen acting “kindly and confidently” towards her daughter in the first weeks of her life, and had previously cared for her alone on an uneventful night.

On the night of April 20, 2021, Everleigh’s mother was visiting friends and left her solely in Holford’s care.

In his messages he said he would find caring for Everleigh “stressful” and that he had smoked marijuana the night he was attacked.

When Everleigh’s mother returned home the next morning, she discovered she was seriously injured and called emergency services.

Ms Ledward said Holford did not appear “overly concerned” and continued to download and play games on his phone while Everleigh was being cared for.

Everleigh suffered brain injuries, broken bones, bruising to her face, and atrophy of her eyes, causing her to go blind.

Miss Ledward told the court Holford’s lack of previous convictions and previous failure to care for his daughter were “mitigated” by his “voluntary and excessive” use of cannabis.

He said: “As a result, the minimum sentence imposed was not only lenient but was outside the range available to the learned judge in this case and was therefore unduly lenient.”

Joanna Martin KC, for Holford, told the court: “My Lord will not be surprised when I say that the judge made the right decision.

“Although it is a light sentence, it is not an overly light sentence.”

Judge Edis, who increased Holford’s minimum term, said Everleigh was “as defenseless as a human being can be” and that Holford had injured her “severely”.

He said: “Everleigh’s mother bitterly regrets her decision to leave the child in the offender’s care that night and holds herself responsible for what happened.

“In fact, under these circumstances, the decision to leave the child with his father was a completely normal and logical decision.

“It was tragic; it left him feeling somehow responsible for his daughter’s death.

“The responsibility for this death lies directly with the criminal and no one else.”

Holford watched the proceedings remotely from HMP Long Lartin in Worcestershire and showed no emotion as his sentence was increased.

Crown prosecutor Ellie Reeves said: “This is a horrific and harrowing case. Thomas Holford was supposed to be looking after his daughter, who was just five weeks old, but instead consumed excessive amounts of drugs before violently attacking her.”

“Everleigh must have suffered greatly and these severe injuries led to her untimely death a year later.

“Everleigh had her whole life ahead of her and there are no words that can console those who loved and cared for her.

“I want to offer my deepest condolences and welcome the court’s decision to keep this dangerous man in prison longer after his harrowing crimes.”