A window cleaner today walked free after a jury ac

A window cleaner today walked free after a jury acquitted him of shaking his lover’s daughter to death.

Wayne Ayres, 25, was accused of murdering 19-month-old Shanell Sobers while her mother popped out to a nearby shop to buy milk and bread.

The toddler was pronounced brain dead 30 hours after being rushed to hospital with head injuries on October 20 last year, Southwark Crown Court heard.

But today after less than two hours deliberating, the jury cleared Ayres of murdering Shanell at his home in Chertsey, Surrey.

Giving evidence during the two weeks trial, Ayres told the jury that he dropped Shanell, ‘a blonde haired, blue eyed tom boy’ by accident.

He admitted that as he rushed upstairs to a neighbour’s flat for medical advice he banged her head on the door, knocking her unconscious.

Ayres had admitted telling his partner Serena Sobers, the doctors and police a pack of lies about the circumstances leading to Shanell’s death because he was ‘ashamed’ of what had happened.

He said he was worried that he would never see his girlfriend and their unborn baby again if he revealed the truth.

During his evidence he said: ‘I did not want to lose Serena and the baby and I thought if I told her what had happened, she would want nothing to do with me again.

‘She was in my care.

I dropped her.

I hit her head on the door.

‘I thought I was the person that had killed her.

I was ashamed of what had happened.

I continued to tell the lies.

‘

The court heard how Shanell had been jumping up and down on the couple’s bed at after her teenage mother popped out to buy some milk and bread.

Ayres said: ‘She was grizzling.

Serena went out and she was fine.

‘I got her next to me and we started to lie down but she did not want to lie down.

‘She wanted to play.

I started tickling her and she started jumping up on the bed.

‘I put my tracksuit bottoms on and as I put my t-shirt on, I was just getting it over my head, I could see she was still jumping on the bed.

‘The next thing as I putting my t-shirt over my head she was coming off the end of the bed backwards.

‘

Jurors heard how Ayres grabbed the little girl as she fell onto the floor.

He said: ‘She landed on her bum first and her head shot backwards like whiplash.

She landed.

It made a big thump.

‘

He said he bent down and picked her up but as he picked her off the ground she slipped out his arms.

‘I knew she had hurt herself.

I grabbed her and picked her up to see if she was all right.

I looked at her and I could see her eyes, but I did not get a proper look,’ he said.

He added: ‘She just fell straight through my hands.

She went straight down.

‘

Ayres said he ran to a neighbour’s flat where he jerked the front door ‘really hard’.

‘As it swung open it hit Shanell on the head,’ he said.

‘I ran upstairs.

I realised that she was not breathing.

I thought the door had knocked her out or something.

‘I was banging on the door and shouting at Shannon to come and help.

I was saying to Shanell it is going to be all right.

You are going to be all right.

‘Shannon came to the door.

Shanell started couching up sick or something on my shirt.

Shannon took her.

‘

The emergency services were called and Shannon was given instructions on how to resuscitate the toddler.

Jurors heard how the ambulance arrived and took Shanell away but she never regained consciousness.

Smartly dressed in a grey suit and silver tie Ayres, of Gogmore Farm Close, Chertsey, Surrey showed no emotion as he was cleared of murder.

ends