Man denies harming partner's baby, trial hears

A man, on trial accused of the manslaughter of a baby in South Gloucestershire is denying having any idea why the four month old collapsed in his arms.

Jack Wheeler from Herefordshire is on trial at Bristol Crown Court charged with killing Lexi Wilband - also on trial is Lexi's mum Melissa Wilband.

Bristol Crown Court has been told Lexi collapsed at her home in Newent in the Forest of Dean in April 2020 when she was four months old and died in hospital six days later.

Tests showed Lexi had suffered bleeding on her brain, likely caused by being violently shaken, both recently and on at least one earlier occasion, prosecutors say.

Giving evidence, Wheeler told jurors he had gone to the kitchen to make up some night-time feeds for Lexi while she was in the front room.

"I remember hearing some screams from Lexi," he said.

"Then I went into the front room, I can't remember where Melissa was, I just remember going to get Lexi.

"I have her, the bottle and dummy. I picked her up because she was crying and screaming, and she went floppy in my arms.

"I checked her airway."

Miranda Moore KC, representing Wheeler, asked: "Have you any idea what caused Lexi to go floppy in your arms?"

Wheeler replied: "No."

The court has previously heard that Wheeler had been in a relationship with Wilband for about three years and Lexi had been conceived early in 2019 while they were on a break.

Wilband, of Newent, Gloucestershire, had faked a DNA test during her pregnancy, stating Wheeler was "100%" the "father" of her then unborn child.

Lexi was born on November 30 2019 and a genuine DNA test found Wheeler, of Ledbury, Herefordshire, was not biologically-related.

Wheeler told the jury he had believed the result of the paternity test, but his own family were suspicious and suggested he get another done once the child was born.

He described the result of that test as "heartbreaking" as he wanted to be Lexi's biological father.

When asked about the events of April 12 2020, Wheeler denied Wilband's claim that he had carried Lexi upstairs to her bath in a baby bouncer.

Asked who had taken Lexi upstairs, Wheeler replied: "Melissa."

Ms Moore asked: "Melissa says you were holding the bouncer and Lexi threw herself backwards. Did any of that happen?"

Wheeler replied: "No."

He told the court while Lexi was in the bath he tidied up the bedroom and then went back downstairs, with Wilband putting the baby in the front room.

Wheeler said it was a short time later that he heard Lexi screaming.

The court heard Wilband rang 111 before disconnecting the call and phoning her father, before calling 111 again at 11.24pm.

Lexi was taken by ambulance to Gloucestershire Royal Hospital before being transferred to Bristol Children's Hospital, where she died on April 18.

A post-mortem examination gave Lexi's cause of death as bleeding to the brain, caused by a non-accidental traumatic event.

Wilband and Wheeler, described in court as regular cocaine users, deny charges of manslaughter and of causing or allowing Lexi's death.

The trial continues.

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