BREAKING NEWS: Life for dad who murdered baby son

A dad who murdered his seven month old son has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years.
Kane KennedyKane Kennedy
Kane Kennedy

Cannabis addict Kane Kennedy, 20, clutched his mouth and exhaled sharply as the sentence was passed by Justice William Davis at Preston Crown Court a few moments ago.

Kennedy, previously of Balmoral Road, Morecambe, was found guilty by a unanimous jury of killing baby Oskar Jobey-Kennedy by smothering him at a flat in Morecambe.

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A packed public gallery watched as the judge said :" It was a dreadful thing to do to a seven month old baby

"You attacked a tiny baby who could do nothing at all to defend himself.

"He was entirely dependant on you for his safety."

A post-mortem revealed he died from smothering but that other injuries had been inflicted upon him prior to his death. Tiny Oskar was found to have a catalogue of non-accidental injuries to his face, throat and genitals.

At some time during the night Kennedy had forcibly got hold of the baby’s testes causing injuries and then pushed his fingers into Oskar’s mouth, possibly in a bid to silence him, and put his hand over his mouth deliberately smothering the child.

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Kennedy denied murder and originally told police, paramedics and doctors he had fallen asleep on the sofa with his son and woken to find the baby unresponsive.

He then changed his story and blamed his girlfriend Tia Jobey for the baby’s death.

She was previously jailed for 30 months after admitting causing or allowing the death of a child, after the court heard she allowed Kennedy to stay at the flat - against a formal order she had signed with social workers.

Oskar had been identified as a child in need following a domestic incident during which Kennedy damaged the flat and assaulted Jobey in July 2015.

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During her trial at Preston Crown Court, the jury heard chilling Facebook messages in which she said she feared for the tot’s safety if Kennedy did not stop smoking cannabis.

On September 24 2015, a week before Kennedy murdered his son, she said: “You throw him around like a toy, suffocate him, stick your finger down his f***ing throat, and he’s always in the middle of our arguments and fights."

But after arguing over his cannabis use, Kennedy spent the night with Jobey, 19, and their son, on the sofas in the living room as the bedroom was being decorated.

Paramedics were called to the flat shortly before 9am on October 1 2015 after a report Oskar had been found unresponsive.

The baby was taken to the Royal Lancaster Infirmary but was pronounced dead shortly afterwards.