A man convicted of murdering an 11-month-old baby must serve 13 years in jail, a court has ruled.
Sharyar Ali, of Westenra Terrace in Monaghan in the Irish Republic, killed his then-girlfriend’s son, Hunter McGleenon, in Keady, Co Armagh in November 2019.
The 34-year-old Pakistani national automatically received a life sentence at Newry Crown Court in April this year after pleading guilty to the murder.
Hunter suffered a fatal head injury while Ali was looking after him for the baby’s mother, Nicole McGleenon, who was with her terminally-ill grandmother.
A pathologist’s report said the injury was not accidental.
Newry Crown Court heard on Thursday that Hunter, an only child, was an “affectionate” and “healthy” little boy who was not yet walking when he was left in the sole care of Ali at Ms McGleenon’s home in Keady on November 25 2019.
The prosecutor told the court that Ms McGleenon had asked her then-boyfriend to take care of Hunter so she could attend to her grandmother.
Ali took the baby to see Ms McGleenon at about 10pm that night to say goodnight, and there had been “no cause for concern”.
It was the last time Hunter was seen alive by his mother.
The prosecutor said Ms McGleenon later returned to her own home with her sister in the early hours of November 26 but Ali did not answer the door.
He said they banged on the door and shouted through the letterbox for around 20 minutes in a bid to gain entry but they failed to do so and left.
The following morning Ali drove Hunter to the house where Ms McGleenon was staying and told her and other members of her family that the little boy was unable to breathe, at which point they rushed out to the car but he was dead, the prosecutor added.
Describing the events of the morning of November 26, the judge, Mr Justice McFarland, said Ali had appeared “calm” when he arrived at the house.
“You initially said that Hunter was asleep but soon volunteered that Hunter, in your words, had fallen off the sofa, had hit his head and was not breathing,” the judge told Ali.
“Understandably that caused panic in the McGleenon family. Family members ran out to the car and observed Hunter, who was in his car seat. He appeared to be unresponsive and appeared to be lifeless.
“Resuscitation was attempted by family members. Emergency services were quickly on the scene.”
The judge added that the emergency services crews were of the opinion that “Hunter was dead” and his death was later confirmed.
He told the court the injuries Hunter suffered were caused by “blunt trauma to the head” and that it was “crystal clear” they were not due to the baby falling off the sofa, as Ali had originally claimed.
Mr Justice McFarland said medical evidence confirmed there were 19 areas of head and neck injury to Hunter that “may not relate to 19 separate episodes of trauma, but it does reflect multiple injuries to this area nonetheless”.
The judge also said it was the opinion of the assistant state pathologist that those injuries had been caused by “either direct trauma, or blows or kicks and/or by shaking of Hunter”.
“The medical opinion was also that, at the time, Hunter having received these injuries would have been in a state of reduced consciousness,” he added.
“What is crystal clear is that the injuries were not caused by Hunter falling off a settee or falling from a similar height or by a similar mechanism. Death was certified as being caused by blunt trauma to the head.”
In his ruling, the judge told the court he was imposing a term of 13 years for the murder of Hunter after taking account of victim impact statements as well as aggravating factors and mitigating factors.
He said he had received victim impact statements detailing how Ms McGleenon and the rest of the family are “devastated” by Hunter’s death and that, over the years, their grief and suffering “has not departed”.
He added that Ms Gleenon suffers from “persistent complex bereavement disorder”, which he described as “perfectly understandable”, but told the court he would not be divulging any further details of the victim impact statements in a bid to protect the family’s privacy.
Mr Justice McFarland said he had also taken into account mitigating factors.
Ali had no criminal record, had a good work record in recent times, had no history of drug or alcohol abuse, and had a mild learning disability with traits of autism, the court heard.
The judge said he had taken into account that there was no previous aggravated behaviour.
He handed down a term of at least 16 years reduced by three years for Ali’s guilty plea to the murder charge.
Following the sentencing, the Public Prosecution Service issued a statement.
Ciaran McQuillan, head of the PPS Serious Crime Unit, said: “We recognise the pain and distress suffered by the family of baby Hunter McGleenon since he was murdered by Sharyar Ali on 26 November 2019. Our thoughts are with baby Hunter’s family as they continue to try to cope with his devastating loss.
“While sentencing is a matter for the judiciary, the Director of Public Prosecutions does have the power to refer particular sentences to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that they may be unduly lenient.
“An unduly lenient sentence is one that falls outside the range of sentences that a judge, taking into consideration all relevant factors and having regard to sentencing guidance, could reasonably consider appropriate.
“We are considering whether there are is a legal ground to refer the sentence in this case to the Court of Appeal for consideration.”
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