Monster who beat baby leaving them disabled made chilling search while scoffing McDonald's
Monster who beat baby leaving them disabled made chilling search while scoffing McDonald's
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A monster who brutually beat a premature baby and left them disabled made a chilling Google search while scoffing a McDonald's with his partner. Tom Kember, 27, was jailed for 21 years after he committed “an attack of monstrous evil with the worst possible consequences” on an eight-week-old baby at a property in Taunton, Somerset, in January 2020. He caused grievous bodily harm with intent to the child resulting in head injuries that have led to profound disabilities.
Bristol Crown Court heard the baby, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was born prematurely and had been discharged from hospital just 10 days before the incident. Footage from inside a McDonald’s restaurant shows Kember and his partner, Katherine Reilly, 25, eating a meal as he searched on his phone for terms including “if baby hits its head does the baby sleep a lot.".
It is believed that the baby had sustained injuries at the hands of Kember by that point, and he committed a further assault after leaving the restaurant at about 11.17pm on January 13. Kember called 111 reporting that the infant was unresponsive at about 1.20am on January 14.
Paramedics noted the baby had facial bruising and raised concerns with staff at Musgrove Park Hospital, who alerted Avon and Somerset Police. A jury at Bristol Crown Court convicted Kember of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to the baby, while Reilly was convicted of child cruelty, in October last year.
Judge Julian Lambert jailed Kember for 21 years with a further four years on extended licence on Friday. Reilly received a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. The judge told Kember: “The victim of your crime was extremely vulnerable at only eight weeks old, after a premature birth. “The consequences where utterly catastrophic, traumatic brain injury. You have robbed a child of most quality of life.
