Prestonpans man admits killing his two month old baby daughter

A dad is behind bars after he admitted killing his tiny baby girl in 2012

The High Court in Glasgow

Joseph Ray violently shook tiny Ava Ray at their flat in Prestonpans, East Lothian on November 1 2012.

The 32 year-old was charged after a near seven year probe into the death.

Ray faced a murder accusation when he appeared today at the High Court in Glasgow but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the reduced charge of culpable homicide.

The former refuse collector, who had previously been on bail, was remanded in custody pending sentencing next month.

Following his plea, the court was told little Ava had been born on September 3, 2012 and was was the first child for Ray and his partner Lauren Scott.

Midwives had been "happy" at how they were coping with the newborn but prosecutor Ashley Edwards QC said the couple had arguments after the birth mainly over who would do night time feeds.

On the day of the killing, Ava was left in the care of Ray after her mother went to work in a local bar at 6.30pm.

An hour later, Ray unsuccessfully tried to get his aunt to come over to watch Ava while he went for a shower.

Around 10.50pm, Ray was then seen running to a neighbour after claiming he had found his daughter to be "cold to the touch".

Miss Edwards: "He was described as upset and crying."

A 999 call was made to the emergency services was made and Ray was told to carry out CPR before mercy crews arrived.

The advocate depute added: "A paramedic observed immediately that the baby was in cardiac arrest, white in colour, limp and unresponsive."

Ava was rushed to Edinburgh's Royal Hospital for Sick Children where tests revealed her brain had been starved of oxygen.

Despite the efforts of a specialist team of medics, the tot tragically died early the next morning.

The court heard it was concluded at that time there were "no apparent suspicious circumstances".

Ava's death was initially treated as "unascertained", but Miss Edwards said that between 2014 and 2018 "various experts" were consulted about what had happened to her.

Miss Edwards said: "Following protracted discussions...the medical consensus is now that the pattern of injury...was caused by trauma."

It was concluded Ava had died due to a "head injury".

Ray had been held by police in October 2013 but was later freed and not charged with any offence.

It was in March 2019 that he first appeared in court in connection with his daughter's death.

The hearing was told that he initially claimed to police he had put Ava to sleep that night in her Moses basket.

Ray added he later went to give her a feed, lifted the baby up and found her to be "unresponsive".

No further details of the attack were revealed in court. At the time of Ava’s death, Ray had no previous convictions but he has since been found guilty of two "domestic assaults" on Lauren Scott.

He had been accused of assaulting Ava on an earlier occasion and repeatedly attacking Ms Scott but prosecutors accepted his not guilty pleas to those two charges.

Judge Lady Stacey deferred sentencing for background reports.

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