A MUM has been found guilty of shaking her baby to death and refusing to stay by her bedside in hospital as she lay dying.
Melissa Wilband, 28, had denied killing four-month-old Lexi Wilband, who died from a bleed on the brain.
Crown Court was told the baby collapsed at home in Newent in the Forest of Dean and died six days later.
Lexi had suffered a bleed on the brain that was likely caused by someone “shaking her violently” on more than one occasion.
Wilband's boyfriend at the time, Jack Wheeler, had also been charged with manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child. He was not Lexi's biological father.
However, after both gave evidence in court, the Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence for the manslaughter charge for 31-year-old Wheeler and the charge was removed.
A jury found him not guilty on Wednesday of a charge of causing or allowing the death of a child.
Wilband, meanwhile, was convicted of manslaughter.
The court heard Lexi was taken to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital where Wilband claimed she was in her bouncer chair when she cried, went floppy then stopped breathing.
The baby was then transferred to Bristol Children's Hospital where the decision was made to switch off her life support.
Jane Osborne KC, prosecuting, said: “Ms Wilband knew that Lexi might die during the night but she didn't stay by her bedside.
“A staff nurse held Lexi's hand through the night and remained with her.
“On the morning of April 18, Lexi seemed to have longer pauses in her breathing. Ms Wilband was told to attend the ward.
“She arrived just after Lexi had ceased to show any signs of life and had stopped breathing.”
The court was told Wilband had told Wheeler, 31, throughout her that he was Lexi's biological dad.
But she had actually conceived the baby in early 2019 when she and Wheeler were not together.
Ms Osborne said: “When Melissa Wilband was still pregnant with Lexi, following some queries about the paternity, she presented a document which purported to be a paternity test.
“It declared that Jack Wheeler was the father of the unborn baby. This was obviously not a genuine document.
“The most obvious fact was the fact that the word ‘father' was spelt ‘farther' which would have been obvious to anybody who knew how to spell it properly.
“Looking at that document exacerbated concerns of Jack Wheeler and his parents. Very soon after Lexi was born, Jack Wheeler ensured that Melissa Wilband submitted samples for a proper test.
“The genuine test showed that he was not the father of Lexi. After the results of this, Mr Wheeler and Ms Wilband nearly split up but Ms Wilband persuaded Mr Wheeler that he should stay with her.”
Jurors heard Wheeler moved in with Wilband during the Covid lockdown in February 2020.
The couple, described as regular cocaine users, lived in squalor with every kitchen surface covered in food and utensils.
On April 12, 2020, Wilband phoned emergency crews, with paramedics finding Lexi unresponsive on the floor when they arrived.
While paramedics asked her questions, the mum rolled cigarettes and used her mobile.
When she was asked if she would like to hold her daughter before she was intubated, Wilband declined, the court heard.
In a prepared statement, Wheeler told that Lexi “suddenly stopped crying and went floppy in his arms”.
A post-mortem gave Lexi's cause of death as bleeding to the brain, caused by a non-accidental traumatic event such as someone “shaking her violently”.
Further tests found the areas of bleeding in Lexi's eyes were “too numerous to count”, jurors heard.
Wilband was bailed by the court and is due to be sentenced on 22 May at Bristol Crown Court.
