NICOLA BROWN FROM PORTSMOUTH SENTENCED TO LIFE FOR BABY'S MURDER IN PORTSMOUTH

In a tragic and heart-wrenching case that unfolded in Portsmouth, a mother named Nicola Brown was convicted of the brutal murder of her 19-day-old son, Jake, in February 2017. The court heard how Brown, aged 43, inflicted a series of devastating blows to her infant’s head, resulting in catastrophic injuries that ultimately led to his death.

Brown was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 14 and a half years before she could be considered for parole. The prosecution detailed how she used a hard object to strike her baby’s head with “astonishing force,” causing severe trauma. The injuries included extensive bruising to Jake’s scalp, a fractured skull, bilateral brain hemorrhages, and bleeding in his eyes. A post-mortem examination revealed additional injuries, such as 17 fractured ribs, which were attributed to an adult squeezing him, and an earlier brain injury likely caused by shaking.

During the trial, jurors listened to a distressing recording of Brown’s 999 emergency call, in which she sobbed and claimed her baby was not breathing. She told the operator: “My baby is not breathing. Yesterday he was knocked out of the baby basket – he’s definitely not breathing. He’s 19 days old and I didn’t think there was anything wrong with him when he was knocked out of the baby basket.”

In court, Brown attempted to shift blame onto medical professionals, asserting that doctors failed to identify her son’s illness after she took Jake to a GP three days prior to his death. She reported symptoms such as constipation, wheezing, and a runny nose. She recounted her final moments with Jake, saying: “He was asleep, he was clammy, sweaty, he didn’t take his feed and I said if he didn’t take his next feed properly I would take him to the doctor’s. He made a noise and I saw the lights go out of my son’s eyes and that’s a picture I will never forget for the rest of my life.”

When asked whether Jake had suffered violence that caused him to stop breathing, Brown responded: “I can’t comment on that because I didn’t see anything. Personally I think I have been let down by the health services.”

Brown, who resides in Portsmouth, Hampshire, was found guilty of murder at Winchester Crown Court in December, exactly two years after the tragic incident. Her reaction to the verdict was one of anger; she shouted at the jurors, “You have really got it wrong. I hope this haunts you to the day you die.”

Her husband, Jason Brown, aged 44, a forklift driver and Jake’s father, was acquitted of any charges related to causing or permitting the child’s death. The court heard that the couple, who married after Jake’s death, had a tumultuous relationship, with text messages revealing frequent arguments. Additionally, social services had been involved due to the fact that Nicola Brown had not disclosed her pregnancy to her doctor, leading to concerns over a concealed pregnancy.

Prosecutor Nigel Lickley QC highlighted troubling messages exchanged nine days before Jake’s death, indicating a strained mental state. On December 10, Jason expressed reluctance to leave Nicola alone with the baby unless she sought help for her issues. Brown’s messages revealed her panic over dropping her son and her feelings of being a “ticking time bomb,” suggesting a complex and disturbed emotional state leading up to the tragic event.