Father of Alexa-Marie Quinn sentenced for her murder

Carl Wheatley will be sentenced today for killing his his four-year-old daughter by beating her to death. Alexa-Marie Quinn had 66 injuries when she died in March 2014, St Albans Crown Court heard.

Wheatley, 31, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, admitted manslaughter but the jury rejected his plea of not guilty to murder on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

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Serious Case Review being held into Alexa-Marie's death

Bedford Borough Council has said a Serious Case Review is being carried out into the murder of four-year-old Alexa-Marie Quinn by her father.

Carl Wheatley has been jailed for 21 years for the "sadistic" murder of his daughter.

Alexa-Marie Quinn’s death at the hands of her father; after he was granted custody of her by the courts has been hugely distressing for everyone involved and we welcome the guilty verdict. Our thoughts remain with her family and all those who knew her during her tragically short life.

We are participating in a Serious Case Review with colleagues from the Hertfordshire Children’s Safeguarding Board to examine every detail of this case and make sure that we learn everything possible from Alexa-Marie’s tragic death. While this review is ongoing it would be inappropriate to speculate on its outcomes. However, once completed, these findings will be published and any learning identified will be used to help shape the way that all agencies work to keep children safe.

– Kevin Crompton, Director of Children’s and Adults Services at Bedford Borough Council

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Police: Alexa-Marie must have been 'absolutely terrified'

Carl Wheatley was a "manipulative man who took his frustrations out on his daughter", Hertfordshire Police has said.

Speaking after the 31-year-old was jailed for 21 years for the murder of Alexa-Marie Quinn, Det Ch Insp Jerome Kent told ITV News the four-year-old must have been "absolutely terrified in the last weeks of her life".

"This is a four-year-old child, in a relatively new house, with a relatively new father, who must have been absolutely terrified in the last weeks of her life - and wondering why she was being repeatedly hit and assaulted by the one person who should have been her protector, and that was her father."

Father killed daughter months after winning custody

Carl Wheatley will be jailed today for battering his four-year-old daughter to death last year, just months after winning custody.

Alexa-Marie Quinn was beat repeatedly in the weeks before her death, knocking two of her teeth out and causing her 66 injuries, pathologists said.

Carl Wheatley, 31, beat his four-year-old daughter to death. Credit: Police handout.

The supermarket worker had twice been arrested but released without charge for assault, and had been convicted for a public order offence.

His daughter had been in his care for the three months leading up to her death, after being cared for in foster parents. She was taken from her mother when she was two.

The jury at the trial heard that Wheatley's internet searches included "what glue can I use to put teeth back in."

Father of murdered four-year-old to be sentenced

The father of Alexa-Marie Quinn will be sentenced for beating her to death today.

The four-year-old died on March 12 last year after suffering from what the pathologist described as "extreme blunt-force trauma". 66 injuries were recorded on her body.

Alexa-Marie Quinn was beaten to death by her father. Credit: Family handout.

Carl Wheatley, 31, from Hatfield, Hertfordshire, admitted manslaughter but the jury rejected his plea of not guilty on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

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