Frustrated Dad Kills Baby Daughter By Hitting Her On The Chest

A 21-year-old man, who murdered his infant daughter by hitting her on the chest with his fist, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Ashwynne Kortjie, from Western Cape in South Africa, entered into a plea and sentencing agreement with the State Monday in connection with the murder of his four-month-old daughter Ashmee-Lee Stalleneberg on Nov. 20, 2019, reports local news outlet IOL.

Kortjie was alone with his daughter at their home when the incident happened. The baby began crying incessantly, and Kortjie tried to calm her down in vain.

He then placed the crying baby on the bed before pushing on her ribs with both hands. He applied pressure on her chest, making the baby cry even harder.

A frustrated Kortjie then grabbed the baby by its arm, breaking it in the process. The baby cried continuously in agony. He then tried to feed the infant but she didn't take the food or stop crying.

That's when Kortjie hit the baby twice on her chest with his fists. The baby suddenly stopped crying and closed her eyes.

Sensing something was wrong, he rushed to his neighbor and sought her assistance with the baby.

The woman asked him to bring the baby over to her home. However, on seeing the baby, she understood it was dead and immediately called the emergency services and police.

While an ambulance took the baby to the hospital, Kortjie was placed under arrest. The postmortem examination found the cause of death to be multiple injuries caused by the assault.

He was sober and coherent when the incident took place, the court heard. Kortjie admitted that he knew exactly what he was doing and how fatal hitting the baby could be.

The court was also told that Ashmee-Lee was with her father at the time of her murder as her parents were separated. They had mutually agreed to care for the little girl every alternate week.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila welcomed the sentence. "Ashwynne Kortjie was the father of this child and he was supposed to protect her. He brutally killed the child because she cried. He assaulted her in a callous and brutal manner, ultimately causing her death,” he added.