Yahoo News Man shouted 'shut the f*** up at partner's 23-month-old daughter every day before smothering her to death'
A man shouted “shut the f*** up” at his partner’s 23-month-old daughter every day before smothering her to death, a court has heard.
Neighbours were left concerned by Jonathan Garner’s “hideous yelling” at Mia Gregson and called police just weeks before her death.
Mia died of brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen after suffering a cardiac arrest at her home in Hull on February 13, 2014.
Garner, of Hull, East Yorkshire, denies murder and causing or allowing a child's death while Mia’s mother Samantha Gregson, now of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, denies causing or allowing a child's death.
Prosecutor Robert Smith QC told Sheffield Crown Court that Garner was "prone to outbursts of temper" which would see him shout "shut the f*** up" at Mia every day.
The court heard a transcript of the concerned neighbour's call to police before Mia’s death, which reported the shouting as starting at "10 or 11 in the morning and going on all day".
During the call, the neighbour asked police: "Can you send someone round to make sure the kid is all right? He's really losing his rag."
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Jurors also heard that a neighbour heard Garner shouting he was going to sit with Mia until she went to sleep and "make sure she doesn't get up" just hours before she died.
On the day she died, Garner and Gregson ran into the street for help when the toddler had stopped breathing.
Neighbours attempted CPR and Mia was rushed to hospital but she had suffered "irreversible" brain damage.
Garner told police the couple had fallen asleep on one settee in the living room while Mia was asleep on the other.
He claimed when they woke up, Mia was not breathing, the court heard.
The prosecution alleges Mia died as a result of smothering, which involved placing something, possibly a hand, over her mouth and nose, or by pushing her face into a cushion.
The court heard Mia had suffered a number of "unexplained" injuries associated with forceful contact with her teeth, which suggested a hand had been placed over her mouth.
Mr Smith said: "As a result of her suffocation, she suffered a cardiac arrest. Her heart and breathing stopped which caused irreversible brain damage.
"The prosecution contends that Jonathan Garner was responsible for the act of smothering Mia Gregson."
The trial, expected to last six to eight weeks, continues.
