Mother's grief after ex killed baby daughter – then lied for two years
Grieving mother insists ‘no sentence is long enough’ for ex who slammed their 23-day-old baby’s head against a door and then googled ‘what happens when a baby is shaked hard’
- EXCLUSIVE: Thomas Haining, now 21, was 19 when he killed newborn Mikayla
- Instead of seeking immediate help for the baby girl, Thomas searched the web
- Father from Inverness typed in: ‘What happens when a baby is shaked hard’
- Girlfriend Shannon Davies – Mikayla’s mum – has spoken out about painful ordeal
A grief-stricken mother has spoken of her heartache after her ‘vile’ ex inflicted fatal injuries on their 23-day-old baby daughter – and then denied his crimes for two years.
Thomas Haining, 21, from Inverness, had been looking after newborn Mikayla when he brutally shook her, causing her head to violently slam against a door which resulted in ‘catastrophic and un-survivable’ brain injuries on June 8, 2017.
Seemingly fearing the consequences of what he had done, instead of seeking immediate help, the former shop assistant searched for ways to help the situation on the internet, typing in: ‘What happens when a baby is shaked hard (sic)’.
Haining was eventually charged with murder – but in October this year the court accepted his lesser plea of culpable homicide and he was sentenced to eight years in prison.
But for heartbroken mother Shannon Davies, 22, no punishment will ever be severe enough for the ‘monster’ who robbed her of her chance to see her little girl grow up.
Thomas Haining (pictured right in October), 21, from Inverness, was sentenced to eight years in prison after killing his 23-day-old daughter (pictured left with her mother Shannon Davies)
But for Shannon Davies (pictured), 22, no punishment will ever be severe enough for the ‘vile’ man who robbed her of her chance to see her little girl Mikayla grow up
Speaking of her grief, Shannon – who has an older daughter from a different relationship – told FEMAIL: ‘Mikayla would have been two-and-a-half now, and it would be the first Christmas she’d really understand.
‘She should be here with me and her big sister, getting excited about Father Christmas, but that monster killed her with his bare hands.
‘I’ll never get over what he did, or how he tried to save his own skin. I wish I’d never met him. He’s a vile human being, he should never be free.’
Shannon was pregnant with her eldest daughter when she and Haining first met after chatting on an online dating site.
She said there was an instant spark between them, recalling: ‘I thought Tom was good looking and funny. He swept me off my feet and quickly we became inseparable.
‘He didn’t mind that I was carrying someone else’s baby, who wasn’t on the scene. But some of my friends were doubtful, saying to me: “What man would take on someone else’s child?”.
Haining had been looking after the newborn (pictured) when he brutally shook her, causing her head to violently slam against a door and resulting in ‘catastrophic and un-survivable’ brain injuries on June 8 in 2017
‘But from the moment my daughter arrived Tom doted on her, treating her like his own, changing her nappies and giving her a bath. Sometimes I had to pinch myself and I said to my mum: “He’s almost too good to be true!”.’
Four months into their relationship Haining got down on one knee and proposed to Shannon, who had ‘never felt happier’ despite admitting ‘everything was moving fast’.
Before long Haining began saying he wanted a baby of his own. But Shannon was hesitant because her daughter was only four months old and her body was still recovering.
Yet Haining allegedly persisted until she eventually agreed to try, and fell pregnant in August 2016. The couple moved in together and nine months later Haining was by her side as she gave birth to their baby girl, Mikayla, in May 2017.
‘From her soft, dark brown hair, down to her tiny toes she was perfect, like a little doll,’ recalled Shannon. ‘When Tom cradled her he had tears in his eyes and said: “I can’t believe she’s mine”.
‘We took her home in a bubble of happiness and right from day one she was so alert. She’d make me laugh too with her cute little noises.’
At just over three-weeks-old Mikayla became ill with diarrhoea and struggled to settle – with Shannon also suffering with a cold.
Speaking of her grief, Shannon (pictured), who has an older daughter from a different relationship, said: ‘Mikayla would have been two-and-a-half now, and it would be the first Christmas she’d really understand’
After feeding her newborn and putting her eldest daughter to bed, Shannon was encouraged by Haining to get some sleep upstairs whilst he watched Mikayla downstairs.
Yet in the early hours of the morning, the mother-of-two was stirred awake by her partner, then 19, telling her that Mikayla had stopped breathing.
‘I shot out of bed and as I ran downstairs I saw Mikayla’s tiny body on the floor. Tom was frantically giving her CPR but there was fluid coming out of her nose,’ explained Shannon.
‘My heart was racing and I cried: “What happened?”. Tom threw me his phone and told me to ring 999.’
The emergency handler proceeded to give Haining instructions while Shannon phoned her mother and step-father and her father.
Minutes later the ambulance arrived and Haining went with Mikayla while Shannon waited with her eldest daughter for her dad to collect them and take them to Raigmore Hospital, Inverness.
At just over three-weeks-old Mikayla (pictured) became ill with diarrhoea and struggled to settle – with Shannon also suffering with a cold. So Haining offered to take care of the little one by himself
Yet in the early hours of the morning, the mother-of-two (pictured with her children) was stirred awake by her partner, then 19, telling her that Mikayla had stopped breathing
‘A nurse led me to Mikayla’s bedside where she lay hooked up to life support machine. Tom was in tears by her side,’ Shannon said.
‘I looked on in a daze, crying: “How has this happened?” Tom replied that he’d given her a feed and soon after she’d stopped breathing.’
But then a doctor came to see the worried parents and informed them that Mikayla had suffered a cardiac arrest and scans showed she had fractures to her skull.
Shannon said: ‘I burst into tears and fell into Mum’s arms. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. The doctor said the police and social services would now be involved.
‘But before they arrived Tom turned to me and said: “We need to talk first, we should get our stories straight.” Confused, I said to him: “We just need to tell the truth”.
‘Yet he was inconsolable, worried that because he’d been alone with her he’d get blamed for her injuries.’
After further tests medics informed the couple that their daughter was brain dead and that it was only the machines keeping her alive.
‘My heart felt like it was being ripped out of my chest,’ Shannon said. ‘I begged them to do something, but there was nothing they could do. As tears streamed down my face, we gave consent for Mikayla’s life support to be switched off.
‘Then the nurses placed her in my arms and I cradled her as she slipped away. Afterwards they allowed us time with her and Tom cradled her and bent to kiss her on the head.’
Two years after her daughter’s death, Shannon (pictured left heading to court for her ex’s sentencing in October) was told that Haining (pictured right) had admitted his guilt. The court heard how Mikayla had been unsettled and how Haining had lost control, shaking her
Adding to her heartache, Shannon was then told by a social worker that she couldn’t take her eldest daughter home while an investigation was being carried out and that she would have to stay with her mother.
Shannon confessed: ‘I couldn’t eat or sleep and I was plagued with nightmares and flashbacks of Mikayla’s last moments.’
Meanwhile, Haining posted on Facebook: ‘For weeks the investigation has been going on surrounding my daughter’s death and still no answers.’
But four weeks after Mikayla’s death, police turned up at the couple’s home and arrested Haining on suspicion of murder.
‘My legs buckled and I began screaming,’ Shannon said. ‘Through a haze I saw Tom being led away in handcuffs, then I heard a policewoman telling me she was taking me to the police station where she’d explain everything.’
There she showed Shannon Google searches Tom had made on his phone before waking her on the night Mikayla had stopped breathing.
The first was: ‘Baby took a panic attack and now she’s unresponsive’, followed by: ‘What happens when a newborn is shaked hard (sic)’, followed by: ‘Newborn in a coma’.
Shannon insisted ‘no sentence would ever be enough’ for her ex. Pictured: Mikayla’s grave
‘Bile rose in my throat as a sickening realisation came over me. Tom, the person I’d intended to spend the rest of my life with, had shaken our baby girl to death,’ Shannon recalled.
‘He’d then taken steps to save his own skin with his Google searches, before lying to everyone. How could he? How could he kill our baby? All his tears, I realised they were for himself, not Mikayla.’
A postmortem revealed Mikayla had died from head trauma – but Haining denied everything and was released on bail.
‘I wanted nothing to do with him. I hated him,’ insisted a heartbroken Shannon.
Seven months later at Mikayla’s funeral, Shannon bravely carried her daughter’s tiny white coffin to her graveside.
Meanwhile Haining kept up his pretence of the innocent grieving father, posting gushing social media messages to his ‘beautiful princess’ and posing for photos by her grave.
A few days before the trial – two years after her daughter’s death – Shannon received a call from her liaison officer who told her Haining had admitted his guilt.
Days later Shannon travelled from her home in Inverness with her family to the High Court in Edinburgh where Haining pleaded guilty to culpable homicide on September 5, 2019.
The court heard how Mikayla had been unsettled and how Haining had lost control.
He was sentenced the following month to eight years in jail, but Shannon said ‘no sentence would ever be enough’.
‘I’m glad he’s not getting away scot-free. But no sentence would ever be enough. I don’t understand if he was struggling, why he didn’t come and get me,’ she said.
‘Instead he killed our little girl, then lied and tried to protect himself. It makes me sick with rage, but I know my anger won’t bring Mikayla back. But she’ll be in my heart always.’
Source: Read Full Article