Mum who broke baby’s skull then left her in agony to buy lottery ticket jailed for murder after tot died two years later
A MUM who fractured her baby’s skull in a horror attack that led to her death two years later has been jailed for murder.
Sarah Ngaba, 32, caused “dreadful, life-shortening and life-limiting” head injuries to Eliza Ngaba in November 2019.
The youngster passed away aged two in August 2022 of a respiratory infection after she was left vulnerable from the assault.
Ngaba has now been jailed for life with a minimum of 12 years and 154 days for murder following a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
She was previously locked up for 14 years for wounding in 2021 before Eliza passed away.
Sentencing Ngaba, Mrs Justice Brunner described the killing as “the culmination of increasingly hostile behaviour” towards the youngster.
Jurors heard Eliza suffered a complex skull fracture, caused by forceful shaking “together with a very significant impact” to the head.
Instead of rushing her daughter to hospital straightaway, evil Ngaba took a bath and bought a lottery ticket from a shop.
Prosecution counsel Jonas Hankin KC said a witness who saw Eliza on a video call on the morning of the assault “could see that her body was shaking”.
The man advised Ngaba to take Eliza to hospital immediately but the defendant said she needed to have a bath and did not call an ambulance, the court heard.
Mr Hankin added: “Instead, at 8.13am, she rang a taxi company.
“She was told that no taxi was available until 8.50am and that, if she needed to get to hospital sooner, she would have to make alternative arrangements.
“Despite that she settled for the taxi at 8.50am.”
Doorbell footage caught Ngaba leaving her flat at 8.40am and footage from a local supermarket at 8.59am showed her buying a lottery ticket and obtaining cashback.
The taxi driver arrived at 9.05am and described the defendant as being very calm and not seeming worried.
Once she finally got to hospital, Ngaba seemed “annoyed, detached and concerned about housing rather than her baby’s medical emergency”.
The prosecutor continued: “The prosecution says that this sequence of events is important.
“Eliza was visibly shaking. The defendant was told to take her to A&E. An ambulance was suggested. She didn’t call one.
“She chose to bathe and dress first, accepted a delayed taxi, went to a supermarket, bought a lottery ticket, travelled calmly to hospital, and did not even rush when she got there.
“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.
“It is more consistent with a lack of urgency, with detachment, self-concern, and a failure simply to prioritise her daughter’s welfare.”
Jurors heard head injuries inflicted by Ngaba were “a cause” of Eliza’s death as they had left her profoundly disabled and vulnerable to severe complications from infection, including death.
The mum was previously convicted of causing grievous bodily harm but the charge was updated to murder following Eliza’s death.
Kate Seal, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This is one of the most distressing cases I have encountered in my eight years as a prosecutor.
“Eliza was just seven weeks old, entirely defenceless, and dependent on her mother for care and protection.
“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.
