County Durham child killer and callous mother guilty

Michael Daymond was accused of systematically physically abusing Maya Chappell in the weeks leading up to her untimely death.

The two-year-old’s mother, Dana Carr, was found guilty of allowing her child’s death and of child cruelty following a trial at Teesside Crown Court.

Maya suffered horrendous injuries at the hands of the 27-year-old while her mother turned a blind eye to the abuse as she was infatuated with her new lover, jurors heard.

Michael Daymond (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Despite only being a couple for a matter of weeks, they moved from Consett to Shotton Colliery and it was while living there that Maya started to suffer at the hands of Daymond.

During their trial, jurors heard how concerns about bruising found on Maya’s body were ignored by her 24-year-old mother and she desperately tried to keep her fledgling relationship alive.

Maya Chappell (Image: Family handout)

It was while Carr was out at work that Daymond began physically abusing the toddler – she was photographed with bruising to her face, abdomen, and pubic area, in the weeks leading up to her death.

Carr’s stepfather, Christopher Fellows, sent photographs of Maya’s injuries to Carr but his warning went unheeded, the court heard.

Dana Carr (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Within weeks, Maya was dead when Daymond shook her young body with such ferocity that he caused irreparable damage to the toddler’s brain and neck.

As paramedics and police carried out CPR, Daymond, who had rung Carr before dialling 999, was on the phone in another room concerned that his Universal Credit payments had been stopped.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, Maya was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle, but sadly never regained consciousness and later died.

Maya died because of head injuries, which medical experts say could only have been caused by shaking.

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During the trial, Carr told the jury that Daymond always had a believable excuse for the injuries inflicted on her daughter and denied turning a 'blind eye' to the abuse. 

She said: "If I knew Michael Daymond was going to murder my child, I wouldn’t have left, I wouldn’t have gone to work - I wouldn’t have allowed him to murder my child.”

Daymond, who did not give evidence at the trial, inflicted the injuries on Maya over several weeks when he was alone with her.

He would message Carr, 24, while she was at work with a series of lies to cover up his horrific behaviour.

Daymond and Carr, of County Durham, will be sentenced on December 22.