Overview
- Preston Crown Court imposed a nine-year, 11-month sentence on February 12 after Sayle pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the fifth day of his murder trial.
- Mr Justice Bryan said Sayle’s frustration “boiled over,” finding he violently shook Huxley and dismissing claims that injuries resulted from CPR.
- CT scans and expert reviews identified multiple skull and brain injuries with immediate symptoms, consistent with violent shaking.
- A Home Office postmortem determined the cause of death was traumatic head injury and found two rib fractures caused by forceful gripping rather than resuscitation.
- Police recovered phone searches showing difficulty bonding and anger at the baby’s crying, while prosecutors noted Sayle had long denied wrongdoing and gave no account for the injuries.