The father, who attacked his own daughter in a fit of rage, caused 66 injuries to her and knocked out two of her teeth over a series of savage attacks in the weeks running up to her death. When he finally called emergency services, they discovered the lifeless body of Alexa-Marie Quinn and he admitted he had lost his temper.
During the trial, the court heard young Alexa-Marie had probably been dead for several hours before paramedics arrived at their home in Hatfield, Hertfordshire. Her father had searched online for how to treat bruising and repair teeth.
A post-mortem examination revealed she had died from extreme blunt force trauma and the jury heard Wheatley told emergency services: "I got a bit frustrated and I harmed the poor child."
The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict today at St Albans Crown Court. Wheatley will be sentenced at the same court on Friday.
Detective Chief Inspector Jerome Kent from the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit led the investigation and said: "Alexa-Marie suffered horrific injuries at the hands of her father, a man who should have been protecting her. Not only did he cause her such significant injury prior to her death, he failed to seek any help for her, leaving her to suffer.
"Alexa-Marie, who has been described as a happy child prior to living with her father, died because he lost his temper and took his frustrations out on her.
"At the age of four she was not able to protect herself from this violent man, who then went out of his way to ensure no one else could protect or help her either. This is an extremely tragic case. No child should ever suffer in this way and our thoughts are with Alexa-Marie's family and those who cared for her. I would like to thank them for their support during this extremely difficult time. I would also like to thank the officers and other professionals who have worked on this case; they have shown great professionalism in the face of such appalling events."
Source: UK Mirror
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