Kandyce Downer,a mother-of-four has been jailed for life for murdering her 18-month-old daughter Keegan – months after she was made her legal guardian.
She was sentenced to a minimum of 18 years after being convicted of killing her toddler at the family home in September 2015.
It took just three hours for jurors to return a guilty verdict at Birmingham Crown Court.
A post-mortem examination had revealed that Keegan, formerly known as Shi-Anne, died from a combination of old head injuries, blunt trauma to the chest and septicaemia.
More than 150 external and internal injuries were found on the toddler’s body, including broken ribs and fractures to her legs.
Detectives believe the systematic abuse had started three months before Keegan died – and Downer had never sought medical help for