Amina Agboola murder: Death-kick killer Dean Harris jailed Published duration 5 August 2014

image copyright SWNS image caption Amina Agboola died from a ruptured liver after being kicked across a room, an inquest heard

A man who murdered his girlfriend's two-year-old daughter by kicking her so hard he ruptured her liver, has been jailed for life.

Amina Agboola, of Scott Drive, Yaxley, near Peterborough was kicked 6ft (1.8m) across a room by Dean Harris, 20, last November.

Harris must serve a minimum of 17 years in jail, the judge ruled.

Amina's mother, Sarah Racqueman, 29, was cleared by a jury in June of causing or allowing her death.

Harris had admitted manslaughter but was convicted of the child's murder at Cambridge Crown Court.

image copyright Cambridgeshire Police image caption Harris must serve a minimum of 17 years in jail for Amina's murder, the judge said

Paramedics who responded to a 999 call made by Harris on 21 November described Amina as looking "like a rag doll" when they arrived at her home.

'Unleashed anger'

Initially Harris told them Amina had fallen off the toilet, but he later admitted to police he had kicked her in the stomach.

During his trial, the jury heard Harris lost his temper after Amina repeatedly soiled herself.

Prosecutor Zoe Johnson said soiled nappies and clothing found at the house were "the trigger that unleashed Harris's anger towards Amina".

image copyright Reuben Agboola image caption Dean Harris initially told paramedics Amina was injured when she fell off the toilet

In a confession letter released by Cambridgeshire Police, Harris wrote: "The next thing I knew I had kicked her in the stomach.

"She had gone backwards and landed on her front about 6ft away."

Amina was treated at the scene but died later that day at Peterborough City Hospital.

Bite marks on cheek

An inquest revealed her liver had been split in two by the kick and there was evidence of older injuries on her body including a recently broken arm, bruises to her face and skull, and bite marks on her cheek and forearm.

During the trial it emerged Amina's mother, Ms Racqueman, had been warned by a social worker that Harris had a history of domestic violence and should not be left alone with the child.

However, she said she gave him "the benefit of the doubt", adding: "I believe in second chances."

image caption Tributes were left outside the toddler's home after her death last November

Harris, who showed no emotion while being sentenced, was told by the judge: "You are a dangerous young man."

'Cry every day'

Det Insp Alan Page, from Cambridgeshire Police, described Amina's death as "a horrendous case", the consequences of which Harris would "have to deal with... for the rest of his life".

image caption Amina's father Rueben Agboola was comforted outside the court after Harris was jailed for his daughter's murder

In a statement released by police, Amina's father, Rueben Agboola, said: "I am pleased with the sentence Dean Harris has received today.

"However the grief feels like it has no end. I think about Amina constantly. I still cry every day.

"I go through the motions of living but inside I am somewhere else thinking about my daughter all the time."

A serious case review is currently being carried out by Cambridgeshire County Council's Local Safeguarding Children's Board.