Hollie Ashurst: Dad to be sentenced for killing his baby daughter

A jury at Manchester Crown Court last week found Daniel Ashurst guilty of the manslaughter of 14-month-old Hollie, but not guilty of her murder.

There was stunned silence in the courtroom as the verdicts were read out on Thursday afternoon and Hollie’s mother Leanne Thompson wept.

Ashurst, 33, will be back in the dock today (Wednesday) to be sentenced by Mr Justice Dove.

The maximum term that can be imposed for manslaughter is a life sentence.

Ashurst ran into Standish Medical Practice on February 28 last year with his baby daughter’s lifeless body in his arms.

Staff there tried to revive her, before she was rushed to Wigan Infirmary’s A&E department and then Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

But little Hollie could not be saved and her mother made the decision to remove life support the following day.

A post-mortem examination revealed Hollie had multiple injuries, including bleeding on the brain and in the eyes, bruising, a broken ankle and possible bite marks.

Ashurst claimed Hollie had been injured in a series of incidents that day.

But the prosecution said the injuries had been inflicted by her father at their home on Fleming Court, Shevington.

Several medical experts gave evidence during the trial, including pathologist Dr Charles Wilson, who carried out a post-mortem examination.

He believed Hollie was the “subject of non-accidental injury involving excessive acceleration and deceleration of her head in relation to the rest of her body, with multiple impacts to her head and face.”

Follow our live blog from court later this morning ...