Father jailed for 21 years for 'sadistic' murder of daughter

Hertfordshire County Council has expressed its condolences to Alexa-Marie Quinn's mother and family after her father was jailed for her murder.

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.

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."

Alexa-Marie Quinn had 66 injuries when she died after being beaten repeatedly by her father Carl Wheatley in the weeks before her death, pathologists said.

The four-year-old also had two of her teeth knocked out and the jury heard that Wheatley's internet searches included "what glue can I use to put teeth back in."

The 31-year-old has today been jailed for 21 years for the "sadistic" murder of his daughter. He had admitted manslaughter but the jury rejected his plea of not guilty on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

Carl Wheatley has been jailed for 21 years for the "sadistic" murder of his four-year-old daughter Alexa-Marie Quinn.

ITV London Correspondent Ronke Phillips was in court as the life sentence was handed down.

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.

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."

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.

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