Man jailed for murder of his daughter

A man has been jailed for murder after the child he assaulted as a baby died of her injuries six years later.

Kyle Kitchen 38, (04.08.1986), of no fixed address, was sentenced at the Old Bailey to a minimum of seven years and eight months behind bars for the murder of Primrose Kane, after assaulting her so violently that she would never learn to walk or talk.

Kitchen was serving the 15-year sentence he was given at Blackfriars Crown Court in August 2016, having been convicted of two counts of grievous bodily harm in relation to the incident, when he was arrested for Primrose’s murder.

In a trial which started on Monday, 10 February, the court heard Primrose’s mother and father contacted NHS 111 after she was found unresponsive at her home at Queens Crescent, Camden on Monday, 3 November 2014. She was just two months’ old.

Doctors found Primrose suffered such severe injuries to her head, including a skull fracture and bleed on the brain, that she would grow, but remain with the mental capacity of a baby, with severe physical and developmental disabilities.

In time, she developed cerebral palsy and scoliosis. She was unable to communicate, and suffered with chronic pain.

While Primrose was being treated in hospital, the Met’s Child Abuse Command team launched a criminal investigation after deeming the injuries not to be accidental.

Both her mother and father were arrested and later convicted.

Primrose died aged six on Monday, 17 May 2021 at the home of her grandmother in Welling.

Doctors concluded Primrose had died from pneumonia caused by profound neurological, physical and developmental disabilities.

Homicide detectives were informed Primrose had died, and sought to determine whether the assault in 2014 contributed to her cause of death.

The Met’s Specialist Crime Command launched an investigation, resulting in Kitchen being arrested and later charged with murder.

He was convicted at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, 12 March.

Detective Inspector Laura Nelson, from the Met’s Specialist Crime Homicide Team, said: “Primrose was born a happy and healthy baby.

“The reason why Kyle Kitchen lost his temper and shook his daughter remains unknown. However, his actions have resulted in Primrose’s short life being lived in pain.

“No child should ever have to suffer in this way.

“The fact that such serious injuries were caused by her father makes this case all the more shocking.

“At no time, since 2014, has Kitchen shown any remorse for his actions. As a team, we have fought hard to bring justice for Primrose, whilst others close to her have been in denial about how the assault in 2014 occurred.

“Today’s sentence will bring some closure to Primrose’s family, but this will never compensate for their loss.”