Kandyce Downer, Mother Of Four, Sentenced To Life In Prison For Brutal Slaying Of 18-Month-Old Foster Daughter


Kandyce Downer, a 34-year-old mother of four from Birmingham, England, has been sentenced to life in prison, with a minimum term of 18 years, for the monstrous abuse and murder of her 18-month-old foster daughter, Keegan — formerly Shi-Anne — Downer.

In March of 2014, Keegan Downer was born to a heroin-addicted mother, and was subsequently removed from her care and placed with an experienced foster family. In September of 2014, Kandyce Downer, a member of Keegan’s extended family, related by marriage — stepped forward to ask for guardianship of the infant. Despite the fact that the little girl’s previous foster family believed that Kandyce was motivated only by money — prior to Downer taking guardianship of Keegan, she had cancelled a visit set up to get to know the baby while waiting for a decision on her funding — the infant was placed in Kandyce Downer’s care in January of 2015.

During the sentencing hearing, which began and ended on Wednesday, May 4, the court heard how Kandyce Downer had been an “exemplary mother” to her other four children, and that though Justice Frances Patterson believed Downer did not set out with the intention to kill the child, her “repeated assaults on her made death as an outcome of [her] conduct increasingly likely,” reports the Guardian.

“It is a horrible tale of callous conduct and at no stage have you showed any remorse. Why you changed from a loving mother to a brutal attacker of a defenceless child is a mystery.”

Also released in court were the post mortem results and medical records, which revealed the toddler died of a combination of septicaemia, infection, old head injuries, and blunt chest trauma. Some 200 other older injuries were also discovered, including at least seven recently broken ribs; an untreated spiral leg fracture that left Keegan Downer with a deformity that caused one leg to be shorter than the other, and in excruciating pain; a total of 153 scars covering her little body; and spinal and brain injuries — resulting in brain damage and developmental delays, said Justice Patterson.

“As a result of the trauma, Keegan’s brain was incarcerated in scar tissue which caused persistent pressure on it, preventing the brain from growing, and Keegan would have become backwards in her development. She would have regressed from what she could do physically.”

On the day of the toddler’s death, Kandyce delayed calling emergency services after finding Keegan “unwell” in her crib, and instead first left the home to dispose of the little girl’s blood-stained mattress. Keegan Downer was pronounced dead upon arrival at Birmingham Children’s Hospital after going into cardiac arrest.

According to the Telegraph, Detective Inspector Harry Harrison, who was a part of the case investigating Kandyce Downer, said that in his 26 years on the force, the abuse sustained by Keegan Downer was the worst he had ever seen, calling Kandyce “completely barbaric, inhuman and downright evil.” The court also heard that Downer denied having any hand in the 18-month-old’s death, instead attempting to blame the murder on her own 17-year-old son, of which Det. Harrison added, “when she tried to blame her children I was stuck for words. It was inconceivable.”

The abuse young Keegan Downer suffered at the hands of the woman entrusted with her care wasn’t only physical, but neglectful as well — at the time of her death, the almost-2-year-old weighed less than 18 pounds.

Both Det. Harrison and Justice Patterson commented on Kandyce Downer’s lack of remorse during the investigation and trial. The latter called Downer “vicious and unfeeling,” while the former said she had not shown a “shred of remorse or sorrow,” and that she displayed a distinct lack of emotion during the investigation.

Do you feel a minimum of 18 years in prison is enough considering the monstrous amount of abuse 18-month-old Keegan Downer faced at the hands of her foster mother, Kandyce Downer? Sound off below.

[Image via West Midlands Police]

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