This is an emergency call released by police, where killer Darryn Armstrong can be heard immediately blaming a baby for the injuries to two-year-old Ali Jayden Doyle.
Armstrong (35) sounds almost calm as he claims to the dispatcher the two-year-old was struck with a toy by the baby and then that her head hit the fireplace.
In reality, likely just moments earlier, Armstrong had violently flung the little girl into the fireplace. It would be not long before he attempted to cover up for his deed.
Ali, who was just two years old, died from head injuries sustained in a house in Dungannon in August 2021.
Armstrong and Jade Dempsey (28), the mother of the two children appeared before Belfast Crown Court on Thursday for sentencing.
The killer will serve 20 years in prison while Dempsey, who pleaded guilty to wilfully neglecting and exposing her daughter to likely suffering or injury, received a three-year probation order.
Detective Chief Inspector Anthony Kelly said: “Jade Dempsey had temporarily left her two children, Ali and her baby boy, in the care of her partner Darryn Armstrong. This was at Armstrong’s home in Dungannon on the morning of August 6 2021.
“She was later summoned to get back to the children via a call from Armstrong, saying that Ali had fallen and hit her head.
“Little Ali, who was just two years old, was taken to hospital but, tragically, died later that same day from her injuries.
“The shocking reality is that Armstrong, who would later admit to murder, had caused Ali’s fatal head injury in a deliberate act of violence.
“His cowardly and sickening actions took an innocent young life. He has robbed a young boy of his big sister, and caused unimaginable heartache to a loving father and wider family.”
