A couple who left their five-week-old baby with “catastrophic life-changing” injuries before going for a NANDOS have been jailed.
Evil Rocky Uzzell, 29, and Katherine Prigmore, 24, subjected their child Isabelle to torturous abuse and serious physical harm, some of which they filmed.
The tragic tot’s shocking injuries came to light after paramedics were called to their home in Kettering, Northants., on March 20, 2014.
Prigmore called emergency services reporting that the baby’s limbs had “gone limp” and that the child was “vomiting”.
But a court heard when medics attended the warped couple appeared more concerned it was Uzzell’s birthday that day.
Paramedics rushed Isabelle to Kettering General Hospital after first resuscitating the infant at the property.
Staff noticed both defendants “acting strangely” and instead of being concerned for the baby’s welfare, they were overheard saying it would give them chance to eat at Nandos.
Isabelle was later transferred to Leicester Royal Infirmary where she remained in intensive care.
An MRI scan revealed swelling in the brain and that her wrist had been over-extended.
Further evidence of injuries were found consistent with squeezing and she also had a fractured leg, tibia and right forearm.
The court heard Isabelle will almost certainly be bed or wheelchair bound for the rest of her life and will unlikely live beyond early adulthood.
Police seized the couple’s mobile phones and also found a shocking video showing Uzzell shaking the child on the device.
The shameless pair admitted to causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm in September last year.
Yesterday (Wed) Uzzell was jailed for eight and a half years and Prigmore was sentenced to two years and four months in prison at Northampton Crown Court.
Sentencing, Judge Rupert Mayo described the harm caused to their daughter as “inexcusable and deliberate” and said they had a “warped view of parenting”.
He said: “Isabelle has a limited life expectancy and will lead a life dependent upon care of others.
“You cannot avoid responsibility for this: she was injured in more than one episode by you.
“That harm was deliberate and inexcusable.
“”Your own childhood was fractured by violence and abuse.
“”As a result, you developed in your own mind a totally warped view of being a parent and carer to an extremely vulnerable infant.
“”I have concluded that you are dangerous in as much as there is a significant risk of serious harm to others from further offending by you
Uzzell – who claimed to have an alter ego by the name of “Mack” – also received a further four six-month sentences for possessing indecent images, to run concurrently.
Prosecutor Victoria Rose said medics attended the family home and found the baby with shocking injuries.
She said: “Experts concluded that these injuries were not accidental and that these actions would have hurt the baby.”
Discussing the videos, she added “In one image (video) Mr Uzzell is shaking and moving Isobelle around forcibly.
“You can hear laughter in the background. That laughter is Miss Prigmore.”
Further footage showed a cover being placed over the baby’s head while it was being sick.
Under interview Uzzell initially claimed the video showed him “winding” the baby and said he had never been shown how to do it properly.
But medical experts showed the injuries were well beyond the normal handling of an infant.
Miss Rose continued to say the injuries have been life changing and have resulted in severe disability.
She added: “The child may never regain full sight, has only a vague perception of light and dark, epilepsy, and will undoubtedly suffer from global developmental delay”
Mary Laurum, defending Uzzell, said he had a long-running personality disorder dating back to the age of 11, which often manifested in the form of a brutal alter-ego called Mack.
She said: “This is a man who was brutalised from an early age.
“Given the way that he was treated by his father maybe it is slightly inevitable that his life would not be easy to say the least.”
Helen Johnson, defending Prigmore, said her client had been diagnosed with “dependent personality disorder” and experienced severe bullying in early life.
After the case, Detective Constable Spencer Bailey, from Northamptonshire Police, said: “This has been a highly challenging, complex and protracted investigation which began almost three years ago.
“At the centre of it is a baby girl who, through the actions of these two defendants, suffered catastrophic injuries that will require a level of medical support for the rest of her life.
“Uzzell and Prigmore inflicted horrific injuries on this vulnerable baby girl who was just a few weeks old at the time.
“Medical experts have indicated these appalling injuries were caused at different times and involved a level of force that went well beyond the normal handling of a tiny infant.
“Furthermore, searches of the defendants’ home found that Uzzell was in possession of indecent images, including some at Category A, the most serious level of offending involving abusive images of children.
“We are pleased with the sentences handed down by the judge today.
“These two defendants displayed quite sickening behaviour and will now have plenty of time in prison to reflect upon the appalling treatment they handed down to this baby.
“While we should all be appalled by what this little girl suffered at the hands of these two defendants, we should be at least reassured that the victim is now safe and living outside Northamptonshire.”
