A BRUTE who murdered his eight-week-old baby daughter has been jailed for life.
Michael Roe, 33, shook his premature daughter Holly to death and tried to cover up the blame during three murder trials.
Young mum Tiffany Tate, 22, turned a blind eye to his abuse at their home in Alderbrook Road, Crowborough and allowed Roe to kill their daughter.
They appeared together for sentence after being found guilty at Hove Crown Court.
Roe was told he will be jailed for life, to serve a minimum of 19 years before he can be considered for parole.
Tate was jailed for two years and nine months.
Neither showed any emotion as they were sent down.
Holly was born premature in July 2018 but had barely reached her natural due date before Roe’s pattern of abuse ended in her violent death in September that year.
Mr Justice Edward Murray told Roe he had murdered his daughter by shaking, catastrophic impact or both.
He described Roe’s behaviour as shameful by trying to point the finger of suspicion at Tate.
He told him: “You knew you had seriously harmed her before you finally killed her.
“When you carried her upstairs she was already either dead or in a coma to die shortly afterwards.
“You hoped she would recover as she had before.”
The judge told Roe his clumsy and obvious lies had started before his daughter died and carried on through three trials, which were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“You changed and added to your account with a view to casting suspicion on Tiffany Tate,” the judge said.
Holly was clearly suffering until she died, the judge said.
“You had the highest possible position of trust.
“I’m satisfied you intended to cause really serious harm and you knew you had seriously harmed your daughter,” he told Roe.
The judge accepted there was no evidence Tate had witnessed any of the abuse.
Tate was described as having mild learning difficulties.
“You never observed him shaking but knew he was potentially dangerous to Holly.
“You knew he had harmed Holly before she died.
“You deliberately disregarded her welfare because of your fear of being thrown out of his house.
“You did not take steps to protect her from physical harm. Had you not allowed it, baby Holly would not have been murdered.”
The couple appeared together in the dock at Hove to be sentenced after a harrowing retrial.
Tate and Roe never once looked at each other, Roe, wearing a white face mask and blue suit stared straight ahead, while Tate, wearing a black face mask, black lace top and blue leggings, fidgeted through the hearing.
Roe stared straight ahead throughout the hearing.
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