A mother who battered her infant daughter in a fit of rage, then ran herself a bath and bought a lottery ticket before taking her to hospital, was jailed for a minimum of 12 years today after being convicted of murder.

Jurors heard the injuries Eliza Ngaba suffered in the November 2019 attack, including a fractured skull, were caused by a 'combination of forceful shaking and a very significant impact to the head'.

Yet before taking the 'visibly unwell' infant to hospital in a taxi, 'callous and uncaring' Sarah Ngaba, 32, 'calmly' ran herself a bath.

She was also caught on CCTV visiting a shop where she bought a lottery ticket, before taking Eliza to hospital in a taxi on November 13 2019. 

Ngaba – who was 'prone to outbursts of anger and irritability' - was originally found guilty of inflicting the 'dreadful, life-shortening and life-limiting' to Eliza in 2020 and was jailed for 14 years for causing grievous bodily harm with intent the following May.

Eliza was placed into foster care but her injuries left her 'profoundly disabled and vulnerable to severe complications from infection, including death', the court heard.

Following the child's death, aged two, in 2022 from a viral respiratory infection, police launched a fresh investigation which ultimately led to Ngaba being charged with murder – and convicted by majority verdict last month.

Sentencing her to a mandatory life sentence with 12 year and 154-day minimum term today, Mrs Justice Brunner KC said the attack on Eliza was the 'the culmination of increasingly hostile behaviour' towards the infant.

Having heard a statement from She Eliza's 'remarkable' foster parents, Laura and Gary Haynes, saying they loved Eliza dearly and missed her 'bright and sunny nature' every day, the judge said: 'Theirs was a stable and caring household and they clearly brought much love and happiness into her life.' 

Turning to Ngaba in the dock at Birmingham Crown Court, the judge criticised her for booking a taxi to take Eliza to hospital, delaying medical help and failing to maximise her daughter's chances of effective treatment. 

Ruling that Eliza's head was likely to have been struck against a wall, the judge told Ngaba: 'The distribution of injuries shows this was not a momentary attack. 

'The trigger for you losing your temper is not clear. The result of that assault was immediately catastrophic. 

'It would have been obvious to you straight away that Eliza had serious injuries but you continued to act in a callous way. 

'You deliberately delayed and you deliberately concealed Eliza's terrible state. Instead you put your interests above hers.' 

The judge said it was an unusual feature of the case that Ngaba had already served six years and 211 days of her 14-year sentence for wounding, meaning that time period should be subtracted from a minimum term that would have been 19 years.

In submissions prior to sentence, prosecutor Lisa Hancox said: 'The medical evidence in this case shows that Eliza's injuries were caused by two distinct and different mechanisms – that is shaking and impact. 

'Clearly the attack was prolonged.' 

Ngaba had shown growing hostility towards Eliza prior to the attack, Ms Hancox said, adding that her reaction to the infant's collapse had been 'callous and uncaring'. 

She added: 'The prosecution case is that Eliza died as a result of a violent assault inflicted by her mother during what can properly be described as a loss of control amounting to a fit of rage. It was a sustained and aggressive assault upon a defenceless infant.'

Opening the case last month, prosecutor Jonas Hankin KC said Eliza was born in September 2019 and, just weeks into her life, was taken to the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford, Shropshire, 'floppy, unresponsive and having seizures' on November 13 2019.

Mr Hankin said a witness who saw Eliza on a video call on the morning of the assault 'could see that her body was shaking', advising Ngaba to take the seven-week-old baby to hospital immediately.

Mr Hankin said despite this, she rang for a taxi at 8.13am, accepting a wait of more than half an hour until one was available to collect her, and eventually arrived at hospital at 9.05am.

Ngaba was described by the taxi driver as being very calm and not seeming worried, Mr Hankin said.

Ngaba 'made no reference to Eliza having suffered any physical trauma' when speaking to medical staff and gave the impression that her daughter was 'simply unwell', the prosecutor said.

The defendant also gave the impression she was 'annoyed that it had been necessary to bring Eliza to hospital' and started 'talking about other problems in her life, including issues with her landlord' rather than her seriously ill baby.

'That evidence is difficult to reconcile with the suggestion that the assault on Eliza was the product of an acute childbirth-caused disturbance of mind,' Hankin said.

'It is more consistent with a lack of urgency, with detachment, self-concern, and a failure simply to prioritise her daughter's welfare.'

Jurors were told Ngaba accepted she had caused Eliza's head injuries but denied murder, claiming she was instead guilty of infanticide, a partial defence available in cases when the mother's mind was 'disturbed' having not recovered fully from the effects of childbirth.

Mr Hankin told jurors the sole issue for them to decide was whether the balance of Ngaba's mind was disturbed at the time of the attack, and if that disturbance was partly caused by a failure to fully recover from the effects of giving birth.

'The only issue in this trial is whether the defence of infanticide applies. If it does, the defendant is guilty of infanticide. If it does not, she is guilty of murder,' he told the court.

Jurors heard Ngaba and the baby stayed with an aunt for three weeks after she gave birth, during which time the relative expressed 'no concern about any post-natal psychiatric disturbance'.

On October 8 2019, Ngaba returned to live on her own with the baby in Telford, which the prosecutor accepted would have led to feelings of isolation.

But he told the jury: 'The prosecution says there is another feature of the evidence which is highly significant.

'It is agreed between the psychiatrists from whom you will hear that the defendant was prone to outbursts of anger and irritability.

'These were pre-existing features of her personality, not something caused by childbirth, and the prosecution say it is these that provide a more convincing explanation for what happened to Eliza.'

Gordon Aspden KC, addressing the court in mitigation, said Ngaba had joined the Anglican community while serving at HMP Foston Hall in Derbyshire, where the chaplain described her as a model prisoner and 'never violent'. 

Mr Aspden told the judge: 'It's difficult to imagine a more melancholy and tragic case than this for so many people, not least the victim.'

Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Lee Holehouse, who led the investigation into Eliza’s death, said: 'This is an utterly heartbreaking case in which a young child suffered unimaginable and life-altering injuries at the hands of the very person who should have been her greatest protector.'

He added: 'The life sentence given to Ngaba reflects not only the severity of the harm inflicted upon Eliza, but also the childhood so cruelly taken away by the person who was meant to love and cherish her.

'Her new family gave her the life she so much deserved.  She died knowing she was loved and continues to be loved by all those who had the pleasure of knowing her during her short life.'

Kate Seal of the Crown Prosecution Service said it was one of the most distressing cases she had encountered in eight years as a prosecutor. 

She added: 'Sarah Ngaba inflicted catastrophic injuries on a defenceless baby and then did everything she could to avoid responsibility for what she had done. 

Her account changed repeatedly and in ways that served only her own interests. She initially blamed a walking stick, then Eliza's father, and when phone records and CCTV proved that was impossible, she changed her account again.

'Eliza should have been safe in her mother’s care. Instead, her life was irrevocably damaged and, ultimately, cut short. Our thoughts remain with all those who loved her.'