Mother murdered 19-day daughter and tried to blame another child for death | UK | News
Thea Wilson was killed by her mother (Image: UGC)
The woman who killed her 19-day-old daughter in a “violent and brutal” attack was sentenced to at least 19 years in prison. Nicole Blain murdered her young daughter Thea Wilson in Greenock, Inverclyde, on July 14, 2023.
Sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow on Thursday, Lord Scott imposed a life sentence, saying it would take 19 years for Blain to be considered for parole. The judge rejected Blain’s “absurd” claims that another child was responsible for Thea’s death. Blain, 30, was found guilty of murder last month following a trial in the same court.
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He was accused of repeatedly shaking his daughter to death and repeatedly traumatizing her with blunt force using methods unknown to the prosecutor.
Sentencing Blain, Lord Scott said Blain committed “devastating, deadly violence” and “killed a small, defenseless baby”.
She stated that in the days before Thea’s death, Blain sent messages to relatives saying he was “horrified” that something had happened to Thea.
The judge said Blain gave “ridiculous evidence from the witness box” during his trial and tried to blame another child for the baby’s death.
He described the impact of Thea’s death on the rest of his family.
For his father, Ross Wilson, the situation “broke his heart and shattered his life”.
The judge said in Mr Wilson’s victim impact statement that the “pain was constant”.
Thea’s grandfather, also named Ross Wilson, will “never forget the horrific screams” he heard when Blain called him while Thea was suffering in the background.
Nicole Blain (Image: POLICE SCOTLAND)
The judge told him: “You did not show even the slightest sign of remorse as you stood before the court.”
He continued: “Considering the extremely violent, even brutal murder of a defenseless baby, I decided that the penalty part should be at least 19 years.”
The judge reminded Blaine that he was given a life sentence and that the minimum period before he could be considered for parole was 19 years.
Following the hearing, a group of supporters gathered on Glasgow Green to burst balloons to remember Thea.
They unfurled a banner that read: “As the monster goes down, the balloons go up.”
Police received a report of a baby unwell at a property in Greenock on July 14, 2023.
Thea was taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Glasgow, where she died.
Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Laura Young said: “This is a tragic incident in which a baby has lost his life and Nicole Blain will now have to face the consequences of her actions.
“I would like to thank all the officers involved and our partner agencies for their work during this investigation.”
