'Barbaric' Kandyce Downer, 35, from Weoley Castle, Birmingham, was jailed for life today for the murder of 18-month-old Keegan Downer, who died at the family home on September 5 last year just months after Downer became her legal guardian.
Little Keegan had been repeatedly beaten and suffered more than 200 injuries, including seven broken ribs, broken legs and severe head and spine injuries. She had 153 scars on her body, including her face and neck.
Among them was an untreated spiral fracture on her right leg, which had left the thigh bone misshapen and half an inch shorter than the left limb and would have caused the toddler excruciating pain.
Jurors in the trial were told that Keegan's bones had been subjected to the sort of force usually experienced in a car crash.
Prosecutor Nigel Power QC said the toddler would have been 'crying and possibly screaming', making it inconceivable that someone looking after her would have been unaware of the injury.
Her left thigh bone had been fractured several times, most recently in the weeks before her death, and she had also suffered a traumatic head or spine injury, which was at least several days old when she died.
(In all, little Keegan had suffered seven broken ribs. She had also suffered severe head and spine injuries)
(The right side of Keegan's pelvis (pictured) was also badly hurt. She had suffered more than 200 injuries)
Keegan was found unconscious after suffering a cardiac arrest. She was rushed to Birmingham Children's Hospital but was pronounced dead on her arrival.
The court heard forensic scientists found more than 80 blood spatters on the walls by her cot with 30 in the cot and more on the doors of a cupboard under the stairs.
But Downer never sought medical help for Keegan, who weighed 17.7lbs, little more than one stone, at the time of her death and never registered her with a GP.
A post-mortem showed signs of 'developmental regression', the court was told.
The judge told 'vicious and unfeeling' Downer she had inflicted terrible injuries on the child, including brain damage which caused the defenceless youngster to regress.
'Keegan suffered considerably in the last days and months of her life,' the judge told Downer.
'Keegan's brain was underdeveloped because of layers of scar tissue brought on over time.
'As a result of the trauma Keegan's brain was incarcerated in scar tissue which caused persistent pressure on it, preventing it from growing.
'Keegan would have become backwards in her development, she would have regressed from what she could go physically.
This post was hard to assemble. She endured so much in her short life.