Dad who murdered daughter, 6, by shaking her as a baby is jailed for at least 17 years

A dad convicted of murdering his six-year-old daughter who died from injuries inflicted when she was a newborn has been jailed for at least 17 years.

Kyle Kitchen, 38, assaulted his eight-week-old daughter Primrose Kane in a matter of seconds in 2014, causing catastrophic injuries, the Old Bailey heard.

Kitchen was today given a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years but he has already served nine years in prison for assaulting his daughter, meaning he will serve the remaining seven years, eight months and 12 days of the minimum term he was handed today.

She suffered a fractured skull and brain injuries which left her profoundly disabled and in constant pain, the Old Bailey was told.

Primrose was placed in the care of her grandmother and died on May 17, 2021. Kitchen was charged with his daughter’s murder while in prison serving a sentence for assaulting her.

Mr Justice Murray said: ‘Disastrously, those seconds led to Primrose’s catastrophic injuries, led to years of disability and chronic pain and ultimately led to her death at the age of six years and eight months.’

Opening his trial, prosecutor Jennifer Knight KC told jurors Primrose had lived with Kitchen and her mum, Kenzey Kane, 31, in a bedsit in Camden, north London.

The couple’s relationship was ‘frequently volatile’, and, on September 29, 2014, Kitchen was arrested and cautioned for assaulting Kane while she was holding Primrose when she was just three weeks old.

They featured in the Channel 5 documentary ‘The Accused’ in 2017, which highlighted Kitchen’s jealousy of the attention his baby was given by Kane.

She claimed her boyfriend had called their daughter a ‘greedy c**t’ and sent her a text message admitting his daughter was not safe in his care days before the assault in 2014.

The couple had been alone at the time Primrose was seriously assaulted in November 2014, the court was told.

Shortly before 6 am on November 3, Kane called 111 to report that Primrose had gone ‘floppy’ and would not wake up after making odd movements and sounds in the night.

During the call, Kitchen was heard saying that Primrose had blood around her nose and was not breathing.

Paramedics arrived within minutes and found the baby was unresponsive.

She was taken to the Royal Free Hospital in north London where a scan revealed a skull fracture and serious brain injury.

Her parents provided no explanation for how it happened with Kane saying: ‘It’s not like we knocked her or anything.’

Primrose was transferred to an intensive care unit at Great Ormond Street Hospital where further tests confirmed her serious injuries, and it became clear she would suffer ‘significant neuro-disability’ in the long term.

She remained in hospital for six weeks and upon her release was placed into the care of her maternal grandmother, Maria Kane.

Kitchen and Kenzey Kane were arrested on November 4, 2014, and denied assaulting or having witnessed any violent incident which would explain their child’s injuries.

Following an earlier trial at Blackfriars Crown Court, Kitchen was convicted of two offences of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, to reflect the fracture to Primrose’s skull and the shaking injuries.

Kenzey Kane was found guilty of causing or allowing serious injury to a child by failing to protect her daughter.

Kitchen was jailed for 18 years, and Kane was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in custody.

Over time, Primrose developed multiple problems related to her brain injury, including cerebral palsy, feeding issues, an inability to communicate verbally and drug-resistant epilepsy.

Her quality of life was said to be ‘very low’ and in 2016 the severity of her condition led to the implementation of a do-not-resuscitate order, jurors heard.

Despite her profound disability, Primrose went to a special school in Plumstead, south-east London, from the age of nearly three until her death and was described by her headteacher as ‘characterful’, jurors were told.

On the night of May 16, 2021, Primrose slept in a double bed with her grandmother as usual, the court was told.

Just before 5 am, Maria Kane woke and immediately noticed her granddaughter’s normal noisy laboured breathing had stopped.

Paramedics attended and Primrose was pronounced dead at 5.23 am.

A post-mortem examination concluded her death was the consequence of the traumatic head injury from when she was a baby.

Before his trial, attempts were made by police to interview Kitchen at Frankland prison in County Durham where he has been serving his earlier sentence, but he declined to speak to officers.

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