An 'uncaring' mother has been convicted alongside her then boyfriend of killing her three-year-old daughter, days after threatening to do so in a text message.
Kaylee-Jayde Priest was found dead at the flat where she lived with her 23-year-old mother, Nicola Priest, on August 9 last year.
The child's mother rang 999 but a jury convicted Priest after hearing the youngster had been 'dead before the call was made'.
Kaylee-Jayde Priest was found dead at the flat where she lived with her mother in Birmingham
The youngster, described in court as a 'happy child', died from serious chest and abdominal injuries.
Medical examinations later showed she had also suffered historical injuries including broken ribs, lower leg fractures and a broken sternum, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
Priest and her 22-year-old lover Callum Redfern pointed the finger of blame at each other during their trial, but were at the time in a 'close sexual relationship'.
Both were unanimously cleared of murder but convicted of the child's manslaughter on Thursday.
Jurors had heard how Priest would hit Kaylee around the head and refer to her as a 'f****** brat', while the youngster was also heard crying 'in a fearful tone'.
On one occasion, neighbours in a flat below at Kingshurst House, Solihull, recalled hearing a bang above and then Kaylee crying, before allegedly hearing Priest say: 'I'll just say she fell off the bed.'
Her mother Nicola Priest, 22, and 21-year-old Callum Redfern denied murdering the little girl
The same residents claimed they noticed that 'when Kaylee cried, the response appeared to be to drown out her crying with music'.
In a text message exchange on July 24 2020, days before Kaylee's death, Priest 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 s**tting in her nappy.'
Redfern said: 'Good - give her one from me.'
Priest replied: 'I will, babe.'
Three days later, Redfern messaged Priest saying: 'I'm going to keep the little brat away from me... sick of your spunking daughter.'
Prosecutors said the messages painted a vivid picture of the 'uncaring attitude from Priest and Redfern towards Kaylee'.
Opening the case at the start of the trial, prosecution barrister Andrew Smith QC said: 'The prosecution case is that her death was caused by
