A 3-year-old girl was found lifeless in an apartment where she lived with her mother Nicola Priest.
The final moments of Kaylee-Jayde Priest have been revealed in CCTV footage after her mother and boyfriend Callum Redfern were convicted of killing her.
In the video played to the court, Nicole and Kaylee-Jayde were seen together using an elevator only hours before the child’s fatal collapse.
The chilling footage shows the mother’s complete disinterest in her daughter, repeatedly looking at her reflection in the mirror and checking her phone. At no point in the video was there any physical contact between the two.
Only hours later, the 3-year-old girl died from serious chest and abdominal injuries.
Medical examinations showed that Kaylee-Jayde had also suffered historical injuries including a broken sternum, lower leg fractures, and broken ribs.
Nicola and her ex-boyfriend pointed their fingers at each other during their time but they were both convicted of the girl’s manslaughter.
The court heard how Nicola would hit her daughter around the head and call her a ‘f****** brat.’ The child was also heard crying ‘in a fearful tone.’
Neighbors also recalled hearing a loud bang and then Kaylee-Jayde crying before hearing Nicola say: “I’ll just say she fell off the bed.”
The neighbors also claimed that they noticed that “when Kaylee cried, the response appeared to be to drown out her crying with music.”
Days before Kaylee’s death, Nicola sent a message to Redfern. It reads: “ I’m gonna kill her… because she keeps leaving the living room or going in the kitchen, so I’ve paled (hit) her one and smacked her for s**tting in her nappy.”
Redfern then replied: “Good – give her one from me.” Nicola texted back: “I will, babe.”
Prosecutors said the exchange showed a vivid picture of the “uncaring attitude from Priest and Redfern towards Kaylee.”
Detective Inspector Adam Jobson said: “This is a really horrific set of circumstances and I cannot imagine for one second what Kaylee-Jayde’s family must be going through, they’ve lost their three-year-old family member at the hands of her own mother and Nicky Priest’s boyfriend, Callum.
“It is a grim picture.”
“I don’t think, sadly, we will ever fully know what has happened, we’ll never get that full picture, both have not admitted their own responsibility,” Jobson continued.
“One thing is clear, Nicky Priest has failed her daughter, she’s failed to protect her and she should be – being a mother to that little girl – the one person who should have been able to protect her.”
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