A ‘monster’ father who tried to kill his baby by throwing it at a TV in a fit of rage was today locked up for more than three decades.
Rhydian Jamieson fled without calling for help and left the child brain-damaged for life after launching the sick attack while playing a video game at a property in Ceredigion, West Wales, on January 15 last year.
The 28-year-old, who admitted to the attempted murder of a baby but refused to show up for his sentencing, was described as a ‘coward’ by the judge as he sentenced him to 35 years in prison.
Swansea Crown Court heard how Jamieson contacted people he knew from online gaming to say he had ‘snapped’ and ‘lost it’ to throw the baby at a television.
His gaming friends urged him to call an ambulance – but he told them he thought the child was dead.
Prosecutor Caroline Rees KC said Jamieson took steps to ‘conceal’ the crime by placing the child under a duvet.
Jamieson – who was described as a ‘monster’ by the child’s grandmother – then ‘ran away’ from the scene and did not call the emergency services.
Ms Rees told the court the baby suffered ‘profound, life-altering’ brain damage as a result.
She said the baby had ‘significant physical and intellectual impairment’ and will require life-long care and support ‘for all activities in life’.
Rhydian Jamieson (pictured) was today locked up for more than three decades
Jamieson (pictured) fled without calling for help and left the child brain-damaged for life after launching the sick attack while playing a video game on January 15 last year
Ms Rees said the child has also suffered visual impairment, is likely to suffer from epileptic seizures for life, and has ‘global developmental delay’ with ‘features of cerebral palsy’.
Jamieson was arrested later that night and told police that he had killed the child.
The baby, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was discovered lying face down under a duvet by family members.
The infant was bloodied and bruised and was found to have suffered a fractured skull.
Jamieson fled the scene and made phone calls to friends in which he said: ‘I think I’ve killed someone.’
The court heard he described having ‘lost it’ and said he had ‘flung’ the baby ‘at the telly’, adding: ‘I’m going to be on the news as a baby killer.’
Swansea Crown Court heard the child had irreversible brain damage and would require support for life as a result of the injuries.
An impact statement from the child’s grandmother described Jamieson as a ‘monster’.
An impact statement from the child’s grandmother described Jamieson (pictured) as a ‘monster’
The court also heard from another family member who described Jamieson as a ‘pathetic man-child who wanted to inflict pain on an innocent child’.
The mother of the victim described him as a ‘disgusting person’ who has caused her family so much pain.
In a statement to the court, she told him Jamieson: ‘You are nothing but a spiteful, disgusting person.
‘What has happened has completely changed my life and (my child’s) life forever. You have caused us all an unimaginable amount of pain and suffering.
‘I live every day not knowing if (my child) will be able to walk, talk or live an independent life. I feel robbed of the chance just to be a normal young mum.
‘The impact on me and my child will last for the rest of our lives. Nothing will undo the damage you have caused.’
The court heard Jamieson later tried to blame another member of the child’s family for causing the injuries – but the person falsely blamed was not at the property at the time in January last year.
Ms Rees said emergency services were called to the property and a baby was rushed to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen.
She says due to the severity of the child’s injury the infant was rushed to University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff where medics found bleeding on the brain, a fractured skull, bleeding in both eyes, and bruising and swelling to the face and limbs.
The injuries were deemed to be ‘life threatening’.
Jamieson has previous convictions for driving matters, criminal damage, common assault, stalking, and public disorder.
Gerard Hillman KC, mitigating for Jamieson, said he accepted he had caused injury.
The judge said Jamieson (pictured) did not check the child or call the emergency services but simply left the infant ‘for all you knew dying’
Judge Paul Thomas KT had a letter from Jamieson via the prison saying he would not be attending the hearing.
The judge said Jamieson said he has been wrongfully charged, and that he ‘suffered enough pain mentally’.
Jamieson, of Newcastle Emlyn, admitted attempted murder of the tiny tot who was left with ‘catastrophic and life-threatening’ injuries.
Sentencing Jamieson on Monday, Judge Paul Thomas KC said the defendant, who refused to attend the hearing, had ‘no remorse’ for his actions.
Mr Thomas said: ‘It was a fit of uncontrolled temper, probably because the baby was simply crying, in the way that babies do.
‘It was clear that the baby needed immediate and urgent medical attention.’
He told Jamieson: ‘You did not even bother to check whether the baby was alive.
‘Like the coward that you are, you just left (the baby) there, concealed under a duvet. That, in my view, was an act of the most horrendous callousness.’
Jamieson refused to attend the hearing on Monday, telling the court he had been ‘wrongfully charged’ and had already ‘suffered enough pain mentally’.
The judge also said to Jamieson: ‘You have not had the courage to come to court today to have sentence passed against you.
‘You claim you are wrongfully convicted – I find you do not show a scintilla of true remorse for what you did to that baby. Your only thoughts are all about you and not about anybody else.’
The judge said Jamieson did not check the child or call the emergency services but simply left the infant ‘for all you knew dying’.
Judge Thomas called it ‘an act of horrendous callousness and self-interest’, as he jailed Jamieson for 35 years.