Mum opens phone app to see man trying to murder her baby in its cot

Jun 29, 2023

Lewis Prince pushed, strangled and smothered the child he was supposed to be taking care of

Sign up to the MySalford newsletter to keep up with what's happening in and around the city

We have more newsletters

Sign up to the MySalford newsletter to keep up with what's happening in and around the city

We have more newsletters

A cowardly thug who tried to kill a crying toddler in a sickening attack was caught after the tot's horrified mother opened a camera app on her phone.

Lewis Prince, 29, pushed, strangled and smothered the young child he was supposed to be taking care of. He denied attempted murder but a jury saw through his lies and found him guilty.

The harrowing incident was only uncovered when the toddler's mother checked a camera app on her phone and witnessed the horrifying attack as it unfolded.

Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features

Prince, of Browning Road, Swinton, Salford, fled the scene but was arrested on the M61 motorway. He has now been handed a thirty-year jail sentence for the evil crime, Lancs Live reports.

Dressed in jeans and a jumper, he pleaded guilty to two new charges of having no insurance or licence when he drove away from the child's home in December.

That morning, he had been asked to watch the child at its Blackpool home but soon his anger boiled over into a horrific attack. As the child cried, Prince launched his assault at which point the child's mum happened to log onto an app on her phone which allowed her to see video of their cot, as she would normally do.

But this time she saw scenes so horrific she had to run back home as the child screamed helplessly. During a trial at Preston Crown Court, four harrowing, six-second recordings of the attack which saw Prince punching and slapping the baby were played to court.

In the footage, he is seen grabbing the baby's neck, pinning them down and repeatedly throwing them down. At one stage, he stood on the child to pin them to the ground. In the struggle, Prince, himself a dad-of-two, left the room to get an ice pack for the baby and returned with a bag of frozen peas which he pushed onto their face, causing more distress.

Sentencing, Judge Robert Altham noted this was "clearly not done out of concern but to cover up what he had done". When the mum got home, she ran up the stairs and pushed Prince out of the way to get to her child.

But in a desperate bid to cover his wrongdoing, Prince pinned her down, grabbed her arm and tried to stop her calling the police. Prince denied hurting the child demanding the mother showed him bruises. "I don't need to", she said. "You already know what you've done."

The woman was eventually able to run to neighbours to call 999 and resisted his pleas to come with her. He instead drove away alone but was arrested before he could make it home. Meanwhile, the baby was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

Prosecuting, Alex Langhorn said a paramedic who attended reported seeing bruises "as you would get at a boxing match, that's the only time I've seen any bruising like that". No medical treatment was required for the child, who has since gone on to make a full recovery.

Defending, Andrew Scott said there was little mitigation other than the fact it was not a pre-mediated attack.

He said: "He reflects on the problems he had. He was a young man who had brought himself to the brink of breakdown. Something had to give. Unfortunately for him, unfortunately for [the baby], unfortunately for [the mum], it culminated in this."

Judge Altham disagreed with the author of a pre-sentencing report and said Prince should be classified as a dangerous offender. He said a whole life sentence was not merited but said Prince should only be released upon a parole board decision after at least two thirds of his sentence.

He said: "For someone to be able to do this to a small child without any real motivation, it's necessary for there to be a check on him before he is released to the public".

The judge handed down a 30 year extended sentence which is made of a 26 year custodial element and a four year extended licence. He will only be eligible for parole after 20 years.

A restraining order blocking any communication with the child was issued indefinitely but no restraining order was issued in relation to the mother.

DS Isobel Garratt, of West CID, said: “Prince’s sickening attack could quite easily have resulted in the victim losing his life. Fortunately, he has since made a full recovery but anyone who watched the harrowing footage of the assault will know that the outcome could quite easily have been different.

“I cannot imagine what the victim’s mother went through having to watch the footage both at the time and then re-live it during the trial. I would like to take this chance to praise her for the bravery she has shown throughout this process. I know Prince’s abhorrent crime committed against her defenceless child continues to have a profound impact on her.

“I welcome the sentence handed down today, which reflects the serious nature of Prince’s crime and the dangerousness he poses.

“Finally I want to praise the professionalism of all my colleagues who worked on this case, from the officers who were first called to the scene, to the detectives, uniformed colleagues and police staff who worked on compiling the evidence that brought Prince before the courts and got justice for the victim and his loved ones.”