Mother jailed for 18 years for murdering toddler Keegan Downer

A mother-of-four who murdered her toddler daughter months after being made her legal guardian has been jailed for at least 18 years.

Kandyce Downer was convicted on Tuesday of killing 18-month-old Keegan Downer, formerly Shi-Anne, at the family home on September 5 2015 after a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.

A post-mortem examination revealed the toddler died from a combination of old head injuries, septicaemia and blunt chest trauma but had suffered a catalogue of injuries in her short life.

Sentencing Downer to life with a minimum term of 18 years, Mrs Justice Frances Patterson said: "It is a horrible tale of callous conduct and at no stage have you showed any remorse.

"Why you changed from a loving mother to a brutal attacker of a defenceless child is a mystery."