A woman has been jailed for life after murdering her two-month-old daughter during an assault at the family home in West Bromwich.
Zara Arsalan, 31, was convicted of killing baby Harleen Bains following an incident on 23 July 2020. The child suffered catastrophic injuries after being violently shaken and having her head repeatedly struck against a hard surface.
Sentencing Arsalan at Coventry Crown Court, Mr Justice Cavanagh KC ordered that she serve a minimum term of 19 years before becoming eligible for parole.
The court heard that the assault lasted only seconds but left the infant with fatal injuries including a fractured skull and severe brain damage.
Medical evidence presented during the trial showed that Harleen suffered multiple blunt force injuries to her head as well as fractures to her collarbone and leg and damage to her spine. Doctors also concluded that the baby had been gripped extremely tightly and shaken with force well beyond normal handling.
Harleen was taken to hospital after her father, Jatinder Bains, called emergency services minutes after the incident. Despite treatment, the infant died the following day from a brain injury described in court as catastrophic and irreversible.
During the sentencing hearing, the judge said the violence inflicted on the child had been ferocious.
Mr Justice Cavanagh said the infant would have experienced significant pain and fear during the attack. He said that anyone carrying out such actions would have understood that there was a real risk of causing death rather than injury.
The court heard that Arsalan had lost her temper with the child during a period of stress after the baby would not stop crying.
Evidence presented during the trial also showed that Harleen had suffered a fractured rib several days before her death, which prosecutors said had been caused by rough handling.
At the time of the incident Arsalan lived with Harleen and the baby’s father at a property in West Bromwich in the Black Country.
Investigators said Arsalan initially attempted to portray the death as an accident. She told police that the infant had slipped from her arms while she was changing her.
During a later police interview in 2022 she claimed that Harleen’s father had assaulted both her and the baby.
The judge said that account was false and had been intended to place blame on Mr Bains.
The court was told there was no evidence that the father had taken part in the assault on the child.
Mr Bains later died by suicide in August 2022.
Arsalan, who had no previous convictions, was found guilty of murder following a trial.