The Death of Kaylee-Jayde Priest

Kaylee-Jayde Priest was a 3-year-old British girl, her grandmother described her as a happy girl with a beautiful face. She lived with her mother, 22-year-old Nicola Priest and her mother’s boyfriend, 22-year-old Callum Redfern.

On 8th August 2020, Kaylee was put to bed at about 7 pm, she wanted to stay up and play and began to cry. Priest and Redfern lost their tempers and one or both of them beat Kaylee until she vomited, inflicting a torn intestine, fractured rib and deflated lung on the infant. Kaylee-Jayde died later that night. An ambulance was not called until the next day by which time it was too late and Kaylee-Jayde was dead. Both Kaylee-Jayde’s mother and Redfern attempted to blame each other for the girl’s death and it is unclear who delivered the fatal blow and whether both were involved.

Disturbing details about Kaylee-Jayde’s tragic life emerged. During Redfern’s relationship with Priest, the child’s discipline became increasingly forceful and violent. Kaylee-Jayde had suffered historical injuries, these included broken ribs, lower leg fractures and a broken sternum. The post mortem examination of the body revealed around 68 separate injuries, some of which had occurred as early as two months before her death

In a text message Priest had told Redfern ‘I’m gonna kill her… because she keeps leaving the living room or going in the kitchen, so I’ve paled [hit] her one and smacked her for [soiling] her nappy,’ Redfern had replied, 'Good, give her one from me.’ Kaylee-Jayde was frequently heard crying, being called a brat by Priest and Redfern and being told to 'shut up,’ and 'go away.’ A neighbour also recalled hearing a bang on one occasion followed by Kaylee-Jayde crying and Priest saying 'I’ll just say she fell off the bed.’ When Redfern was asked after Kaylee-Jayde’s death how he felt he replied, 'It’s not my child… it’s not really affected me.’

Nicola Priest and Callum Redfern were both convicted of manslaughter. Priest was also found guilty of an additional offence of child cruelty and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Redfern was sentenced to 14 years, both must serve at least two-thirds of their sentence.

Kami Ring was a 10-year-old elementary schoolgirl from Maryland, USA. She had just finished fourth grade and enjoyed playing the violin, singing, drawing and dogs, especially her pet dog Sadie.

In June 2013, Kami was staying with her grandparents for a week, she was last seen when she went to bed at around 10 pm. The next morning, a family member went to check on Kami and could not find her. Police were called to the residence and noted that Kami’s bedroom window was open and the screen was gone. By 6.20 pm that day, Kami’s body had been found lying face down wearing only a tank top in a field across the street. She had died from blunt force trauma and asphyxiation, she had also been raped. The body had a cutting injury to her neck and male semen was found at the crime scene.

A friend of the family Richard Madden, 29, was arrested for Kami’s murder. Madden, who had met Kami before, had been staying across the road where Kami’s body was found and had previous arrests for drug charges and theft. Biological evidence linked Madden to the crime scene and Kami’s body, he also had scratch marks on his chest which he could not explain. Madden had also been observed doing laundry early that morning which was described as out of character, he had also cut his nails recently. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.