• Infant suffers severe physical injuries since birth
• Parents charged with murder and severe neglect

A five-week-old baby, suspected of being killed by her parents, sustained more than 40 rib fractures, in addition to broken legs and a brain injury, a British court was told.

It was reported that the child’s parents, Darcy-Leigh Jefferson, Sean Jefferson (35), and Amy Lee Clarke (34), are accused of killing their daughter, who died in hospital on 29 March 2022 from the brain injury she suffered just two days earlier.

The prosecution stated that the infant had been subjected to abuse since birth, and that her brain injury was caused either by violent shaking or by her head striking a hard surface.

Both Jefferson, from Birch Court in Walsall, and Clarke, from Enots Close in Lichfield, denied the charges of murder and causing or allowing the death of a child.

They also denied charges of manslaughter, two counts of causing grievous bodily harm, and two counts of allowing a child to suffer serious physical injury.

On the first day of the trial at Stafford Crown Court, lawyer Harpreet Sandhu said that Darcy-Leigh was born prematurely on 20 February 2022 and “was very small,” weighing just over 1.8 kg.

She added that the child was under her parents’ care, and that one or both were responsible for her death, having subjected her to repeated physical abuse during her five-week life.

Sandhu told the jury that at least three separate incidents resulted in 47 rib fractures, likely caused by compression of her chest, and that both of her legs had been broken, likely due to pulling, twisting, or shaking her body.

The court was told that Clarke had been seen on multiple occasions consuming alcohol while pregnant.

The prosecution described the couple’s relationship as “volatile,” full of disputes and aggression, and that both were aware of the significant risks that could threaten the infant’s life or cause her serious bodily harm.

Sandhu explained that the dangers faced by the child were not noticed by doctors during multiple check-ups, which contrasted with what the prosecution later discovered from the numerous rib fractures sustained after her birth.