A BABY girl suffered fatal brain injuries when “she was shaken” at her Forest home, a court has been told.

Jack Wheeler, 31, and former partner Melissa Wilband, 28, deny charges of manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of four-month-old Newent baby Lexi Wilband in April 2020.

Jack Wheeler arrives at Cheltenham Magistrates court, Cheltenham, January 12 2020. Two people have been charged with manslaughter after the death of a four-month-old infant in April 2020. See SWNS story SWCCbaby. A man and woman have appeared in court charged with the death of a baby girl.Jack Wheeler and Melissa Wilband are jointly accused of the manslaughter of four-month-old Lexi Wilband.The pair also face charges of causing or allowing the death of a child.Lexi, who is the daughter of Wilband, was admitted to hospital on 12 April 2020 and died on 18 April 2020.
Jack Wheeler has denied the manslaughter of his partner's baby ( SWNS)

Opening the case at Bristol Crown Court, prosecutor Jane Osborne KC said a post-mortem examination showed Lexi had died as a result of bleeding to the brain, which was caused non-accidentally, such as "shaking her violently".

"She was shaken in a way that was rough, unnecessary, violent and caused her brain to start bleeding," she told the court.

While saying that the "prosecution don't suggest that either Melissa Wilband or Jack Wheeler intended to kill Lexi or wanted to cause her serious harm", it would have been obvious that "some harm would be caused by their actions".

In addition, other evidence showed it "was not the first time Lexi had been shaken".

The court heard that the duo – described as "regular cocaine users" – were temporarily separated in 2019 when Wilband became pregnant with another man.

But in "a deliberate ploy to deceive Jack Wheeler into thinking he was the father of Lexi," she presented him with a fake paternity test document, stating he was the biological dad.

"The most obvious fact was that the word 'father' was spelt 'farther' which would have been obvious to anybody who knew how to spell it properly," said Ms Osborne.

"Very soon after Lexi was born, Jack Wheeler ensured that Melissa Wilband submitted samples for a proper test.

"The genuine test showed that he was not the father of Lexi. After the results of this, Mr Wheeler and Ms Wilband nearly split up but Ms Wilband persuaded Mr Wheeler that he should stay with her."

Wilband, who later admitted to police she had faked the paternity certificate, moved into a Newent council house in February 2020, where Wheeler joined her at the start of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Late at night on April 12 neighbours heard a woman crying and words to the effect of "what are we going to do now?"

Wilband called NHS 111 and paramedics found Lexi on the floor.

The prosecutor said Wilband told them Lexi had been in her bouncer chair when she cried, went floppy, unresponsive and stopped breathing.

Wheeler, who now lives in Ledbury, later told police that Lexi had "suddenly stopped crying and went floppy in his arms".

The paramedics also saw Wilband roll a cigarette and use her mobile phone while she was being questioned, the court heard.

Asked if she would like to hold her baby, she declined to do so, said the prosecutor.

A CT scan at Bristol Children's Hospital showed Lexi had suffered trauma, with old and new blood in her brain.

Ms Osbourne said that after a decision to turn off Lexi's ventilator on April 17, Wilband went to sleep elsewhere in the hospital overnight, rather than staying beside the baby, who died the next day just before she returned.

The trial continues and is expected to last five weeks.