Man kills daughter 3 months after winning custody, Latest World News - The New Paper
World

Man kills daughter 3 months after winning custody

This article is more than 12 months old

He was happy to win custody of his four-year-old daughter.

But three months later, Alexa-Marie Quinn was dead.

It turned out her father Carl Wheatley, 31, had savagely beaten her to death.

Other shocking details also emerged: Wheatley had wanted her so he would get more money.

Earlier, the supermarket worker had bragged to a colleague about the increased benefits he would get if he won custody over one of his four children, such as a two-bedroom house and £1,700 ($3,530).

He broke her teeth, then searched for glue

When police discovered the girl's body on March 12 last year, Alexa-Marie was riddled with 66 different injuries.

They concluded she had died from extreme blunt-force trauma.

Wheatley, from Hertfordshire in southern England, had called the police on the morning of the fatal attack, after Alex-Marie was dead for several hours.

The court heard he tried to conceal Alexa-Marie's injuries, going on the Internet to search on "how to reduce swelling" and "what glue can I use to put teeth back in".

He pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murdering his daughter.

Sadistic attack

While psychiatrists said that Wheatley suffered from several mental health disorders, the judge described Wheatley's "final and fatal" attack on Alexa-Marie as "relentless and sadistic and to a horrifying degree".

Wheatley was sentenced to life imprisonment and will only be considered for release after 21 years.

Sources: Mail Online, BBC, Metro

COURT & CRIMEMurderchildbeatingenglandfatherLife imprisonmentcustody