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A mother has been found guilty murdered his three month old daughter by shaking it violently and causing havoc brain injuries,
Kaylani Kalanzi, who was known for her social services even before she was born, was admitted to hospital on 8 July 2024 with head injuries.
One of his legs and ribs were also broken and despite the best efforts of the hospital staff, he died 15 days later. Great Ormond Street Hospital,
His 24-year-old mother, Nazli Merhoka, was found guilty old Bailey After being acquitted of the more serious charge of murder.
After she was acquitted of murder on the judge’s instructions, her accomplice, Herbert Kalani, was acquitted of causing or allowing Kai’alani’s death.
The court heard that Kaylani was placed on a child protection plan, and that her parents were “selfish and irresponsible” and put their abusive relationship above their child’s needs.
After being born prematurely, she spent 29 days in the special care baby unit at North Middlesex Hospital before being allowed to go home on 13 May.
Her parents were granted guardianship after they demonstrated to social services that they were capable of being capable parents.
This also included Mr Kalazzi agreeing to take part in a program called Caring Dad, aimed at engaging fathers to increase the protection of their children.
However, jurors heard that the “ever-present risk” for Kaylani became a “deadly reality” on July 8, when they called emergency services shortly before 10.30pm and reported Kaylani had stopped breathing.
When paramedics arrived, Merthoka failed to tell them that Kaylani had suffered a shock, causing bleeding on the brain, damage to her eyes and fractures to her tibia and ribs, the court was told.
Staff at Great Ormond Street Hospital reported that Merthoka became upset when asked about what happened and claimed she was being blamed because of her “race and gender”.
An expert postmortem confirmed that Kaylani’s death was caused by blunt force trauma – a conclusion that contradicts her mother’s statement, and that her injuries could only have been caused by severe shaking.
Messages on WhatsApp and Snapchat revealed after their arrest revealed the extent of their volatile relationship.
On 17 June 2024, Kalanzi messaged Merthoka complaining about being locked out, saying: “Who do you think you are?”
Merthoka told him she was going to call the police and Kalanzi called her “dumb” and responded: “If you go to the police you lose everything. It’s not up to us to be socially upfront about the household.”
She also accused Kalaji of hurting her daughter and told him: “You hurt Kaylani’s eye. I’m reporting it. You gave her a black eye. And blood.”
Jurors were told that a Snapchat video taken in the early hours of the morning shows Kaylani lying on a pillow with a visible injury to her eye.
Both defendants deny harming Kaylani at Merthoka’s grandmother’s flat in Homerton, east London, where the family were living at the time.
Merthoka wiped tears in the dock as he was remanded in custody for sentencing on December 15.
Detective Inspector John Marriott, of Specialist Crime North – who led the investigation – said: “Marthoka carried out a horrific attack on her own child. To add insult to injury, she spun a web of lies to the emergency services to conceal her responsibility.
“Although Kaylani’s life was cut short due to this disgusting abuse, she also had relatives who loved and cared for her. They are devastated by her murder and our thoughts are with them at this time.
“Investigators compiled extensive digital evidence that, combined with overwhelming medical evidence, painted a damning picture of the defendant at trial.
“Crimes against children – particularly of this seriousness – are some of the most difficult cases the police deal with. The evidence here was particularly harrowing and complex, and I would like to commend the investigation team for their work in bringing Merthoka to justice.”