A Leicester man who murdered his baby son has been sentenced to life behind bars.
In a police investigation spanning more than six years, officers worked tirelessly to uncover who was responsible for causing 40 bone fractures to month-old Ollie Davis – including a broken neck which caused his death in October 2017.
Today (Wednesday 10 April), his father, Michael Davis, was sentenced to life behind bars after being convicted of his murder in a trial ending last month.
He was also convicted of two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and has been ordered to serve a minimum of 22 years in prison.
Ollie’s mother, Kayleigh Driver, was sentenced to a total of seven years after being found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm.
Ensuring justice for Ollie and his wider family has been the driving force behind the substantial and complex police investigation run by specialist detectives working in the East Midlands Special Operation Unit (EMSOU) Murder Investigation Team.
Davis, now aged 29 and Driver, now aged 31, both of Carlisle Street, Leicester, were initially arrested by police on 27 October 2017 after a post-mortem examination revealed Ollie had died from the delayed effects of a broken neck, believed to have occurred up to eight days before his death. The injury had led to the compression of the spinal cord which had caused him to stop breathing.
It was also revealed he had 40 bone fractures – including a fractured skull, collar bone, breaks to joints in both arms and legs and 23 rib fractures.
The detailed investigation, which drew upon the expertise of many medical professionals, was able to establish the injuries were non-accidental and must have been caused by serious physical abuse.
Throughout the investigation and subsequent trial both parents denied knowing what had happened to Ollie.
Speaking after the sentencing, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Mark Parish, said: “At the heart of this complex investigation has always been the strive to get justice for Ollie.
“Ollie was a newborn baby who relied on his parents for everything he needed and it was their duty to love and protect him. Instead, he was let down in the most horrendous way imaginable.
“Due to the amount of the injuries Ollie suffered and medical expertise needed to examine those injuries, has taken more than six years for this investigation to come to court and for Ollie’s parents to be held accountable for his death.
“During this extremely difficult time, Ollie’s wider family have had to deal with so many emotions but throughout they have remained not only co-operative of the investigation but extremely supportive and I want to thank them for this. I hope today’s sentencing will now allow them to start to come to terms with what has been a truly unbearable time.
“I would also like to thank the investigation and prosecution team for their continued effort in this case. Their work over the last six and half years to uncover the truth surrounding Ollie’s death is commendable.”
