Couple who 'hid behind wall of silence' to prevent police from finding out which of them battered their seven-week-old son to death are BOTH jailed for 14 years



Jamie Kightley died in hospital after suffering severe brain damage

Adam Kightley and Jacqueline Parker were found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child



They were originally accused of murder but the charge was dropped



The youngster died at Northampton General Hospital on March 17 last year



The parents of a seven-week-old baby who died after suffering a horrific catalogue of injuries were jailed for a total of 14 years today.

Jamie Kightley received bruising all over his body and more than 40 fractures to his ribs and legs at the hands of evil Adam Kightley and Jacqueline Parker.

He died in hospital of respiratory failure and a heart attack after suffering severe brain damage.

Jamie Kightley died in hospital of respiratory failure and a heart attack after suffering severe brain damage

Jobless Kightley, 24, and 21-year-old Parker were found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child following a three-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court.

They were originally accused of murder, but the charge was dropped mid-way through the trial after jurors were told how the couple had 'hidden behind a wall of silence' - making it impossible to say exactly who had harmed Jamie.

The youngster was taken by ambulance to Northampton General Hospital at around 6.30am on March 17 last year.

The court heard he had extensive bruising all over his body, was not breathing, and no pulse. He was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after arrival.

Prosecutors said Jamie had been assaulted at his home in Northampton within hours of his death - and around two weeks earlier.

Jobless Kightley, 24, and 21-year-old Parker were found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child following a three-week trial at Nottingham Crown Court

But his parents both denied doing anything to harm their son when they gave evidence.

The hearing was told the callous pair “concocted” a “malicious” story in which they claimed to have previously shown bruising to a local GP, who dismissed it as unimportant.

Kightley, who admitted drinking lager and smoking cannabis the day before Jamie’s death, accepted only he or Parker could have caused the fatal injuries.

However, both he and his partner insisted they had no idea how Jamie received them, and dialled 999 after waking up to find him ill.

Prosecutor Sally Howes QC said it was part of the Crown’s case that the couple, of Northampton, had agreed to remain silent in a bid to be found not guilty.

However, after they were convicted, Judge Mr Justice Baker said he was satisfied both Kightley and Parker shared a ‘substantial level of culpability’ in Jamie’s death.

Image shows X-box and controllers plugged into the TV beside the baby gym mat in the living room as it was found by police inside the former home shared by Adam Kightley and Jacqueline Parker

He added: 'You were his parents with whom he lived and were responsible for his care and welfare.

'During his short life Jamie was subjected on at least two and probably three occasions to deliberate traumatic harm: the latter two episodes involving the gripping and shaking of him with sufficient violence to cause him to suffer bleeding to the areas of his eyes and brain, and the fracturing of his ribs and the bones of his legs.

'As a result of the final episode of violence, Jamie also suffered brain damage leading to his death.

'It is clear from the medical evidence in this case that the episodes of violence would not only have caused pain and upset to Jamie, but more significantly would have caused visible bruising to his body, which should at the very least have caused you to seek prompt medical attention.

'Instead, not only did each of you fail to do so in the days leading up to his death, but I am quite satisfied that in order to cover up for this failure you concocted a story in which you maliciously suggested that you had previously shown bruising to a local GP who had dismissed it as unimportant.

'Your individual failure to take even the most basic action led to the perpetrator being able to strike again, this time with fatal results. In this manner your culpability led directly to the death of your son.'

Mr Justice Baker said that as a 'result of the stance both of you took' during police interviews and the trial, 'the identity of the perpetrator may never be known'.

Kightley was jailed for seven years, with Parker, who wept as she was sentenced, receiving the same term in a young offenders’ institution.

After the case Detective Sergeant Paul Hamilton, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “We accept the sentences.

'My heart goes out to the jury who listened to and saw the medical evidence, and to the police officers involved as well.