Charity ‘angry and upset’ after baby killer asked for donations

A father who murdered his four-week-old son, leaving him to die from a broken neck after suffering 23 broken ribs, asked for donations for a charity that supports those affected by the death of a baby.

Michael Davis, who was this week jailed for a minimum of 22 years for killing Ollie Davis, started a birthday fundraiser on his Facebook page for Sands, a national charity that exists to reduce the number of babies dying and to support anyone affected by the death of a baby, in 2021 – four years after he murdered his son.

Ollie was pronounced dead after being found lifeless in his cot in October 2017, having also sustained fractures to his skull, collar bone, both arms and the joints of all his limbs.

Sentencing Davis at Leicester Crown Court to a life term on Wednesday, Mr Justice Cotter said the murder of Ollie had involved a “devastating” fatal spinal injury inflicted up to eight days before death.

Ollie’s mother, Kayleigh Driver, 31, was jailed for seven years for causing or allowing the death of a child and serious physical injury after the judge accepted she did not cause any of her son’s injuries.

The charity said they were “angry and upset” that Davis had appealed for donations despite knowing what he had done, and said it was an apparent attempt to portray a “sympathetic picture”.

Sands’ chief executive Clea Harmer said: “We are horrified at the appalling crime committed by Michael Davis, who murdered his baby son Ollie.

“We are angry and upset to learn that he then cynically appealed for donations to Sands, apparently in an attempt to paint a sympathetic picture of himself.

“Our investigations have confirmed that no donations were made through this channel.

“The news reports around the sentencing are deeply distressing, especially for anyone who has experienced pregnancy or baby loss, and we are here to provide comfort and support to anyone who needs this.”