A mother who fractured her baby's skull in a 'fit of rage' has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murder. Sarah Ngaba, 32, formerly of Brookside, Telford, shook her seven-week-old daughter Eliza and struck her head against a hard surface on November 13, 2019, causing catastrophic injuries.
The attack left Eliza with bleeding in her brain and eyes, and she was left profoundly disabled. She died in August 2022 from pneumonia and acute lung injury, with the head and brain injury inflicted by Ngaba identified as a significant contributing factor.
Ngaba was initially convicted of causing grievous bodily harm in May 2021 and sentenced to 14 years in prison. However, following Eliza's death, she was charged with murder. At Birmingham Crown Court, a jury found her guilty by a majority verdict of ten to two.
During sentencing on Friday, June 12, Judge Mrs Justice Brunner KC told Ngaba she had 'never given a truthful and full account' of the assault. The judge noted that Ngaba delayed seeking help, instead purchasing a lottery ticket before taking Eliza to hospital by taxi, and 'deliberately concealed' her condition.
The judge said: 'It cannot be said with any certainty whether Eliza's disabilities would have been less severe if you had acted immediately... but it is clear you did not maximise her chances.' Sentencing Ngaba to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 12 years and 154 days, the judge remarked: 'You may have regretted what you did but you have never shown remorse.'
The minimum term was reduced from 19 years to account for the six years and 211 days Ngaba had already served under her previous sentence for wounding.
