‘I’d never harm a hair on my baby girl’s head’

Father takes to witness stand to deny charges as his trial for murdering his daughter continues

FATHER accused of killing his four-month-old baby has told a court that the day she died was the day ‘everything fell apart’.

Ross Conlin, 29, from Farnborough, stands accused of killing his daughter Kiera while left alone with her on May 6 last year.

He denies murder and three charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

A court has previously heard that the infant suffered a fractured skull, rib fractures and injuries to her spinal cord – allegedly caused by vigorous shaking – in the lead up to her death.

Giving evidence at Winchester Crown Court on Monday, Conlin refused to speculate on the ‘small things’ that happened that morning, explaining: “I can’t remember things like when I got up. I only remember the things I don’t want to.

“I remember my daughter passing away in my arms. I remember her shaking and choking and how everything seemed so rushed.

“I remember doing CPR and hearing in Frimley Park Hospital that she was going to be fine – and then she wasn’t.”

The court heard Conlin had offered to look after his daughter while his partner, Kelly-Marie Rayner, 26, went to get her nails done ahead of a party.

In police interviews, he said that his daughter had been her normal self but that he ‘started panicking’ when she brought up mucus after being fed.

He said: “I burped her and she started retching and bringing up a white milky sort of mucus.

“I panicked. I’ve seen her be sick before but not retching like that. It felt like seconds but I have no idea how long it actually went on for.

“She was sitting up and choking and then she just collapsed and went limp. Everything happened so fast.”

The court heard that fairhaired Kiera suffered subdural bleeding and retinal haemorrhaging which caused her to stop breathing and have a heart attack.

Prosecutor Nigel Lickley QC said: “An adult must have caused the injuries that she suffered. This all happened, Mr Conlin, when she was with you. It happened because of an act of violence.

“It didn’t happen because she choked on her milk.”

But Conlin said the injuries must have been a result of the swaying motion that happened when he cradled her.

He said: “I’d never harm a hair on my baby girl’s head. Never. I didn’t do anything to my daughter at all.

“The day she died was the day where everything fell apart and I’ve lived through that day ever since it happened.”

Earlier in the trial the jury heard Conlin failed to bond with Kiera and that he had wanted to be more financially secure before having a child.

The trial continues.