Inside the Twisted Case of a Mom & Boyfriend Who Killed Girl, 3, Because She Interrupted Plans for Sex

Mar. 15, 2025

Kaylee-Jayde Priest.Photo:West Midlands Police

West Midlands Police

A mother’s 2021 sentencing after the brutal death of her 3-year-old daughter is still stirring controversy today.

Nicola Priest was sentenced to 15 years in prison for manslaughter in connection with the death of her child, 3-year-old daughter Kaylee-Jayde Priest, alongside her then-boyfriend Callum Redfern, who received 14 years after his manslaughter conviction for his role in the toddler’s death.

More than four years after Kaylee-Jayde’s death in August 2020, the child’s mother and her boyfriend remain behind bars. Court documentsshowPriest is eligible for parole in April 2030.

Nicola Priest.West Midlands Police

What Happened to Kaylee-Jayde?

Prosecutors Said Girl Was Killed After Interrupting Plans for Sex

In court, prosecutors told the jury that they believed Kaylee-Jayde was killed in a rage after she allegedly interrupted her mother and her boyfriend’s plans to have sex. Prosecutor Justice Foxton reportedly told the jury that Kaylee-Jade was put to bed around 7 p.m. local time, according toBBC.

Callum Redfern.West Midlands Police

A History of Abuse

The prosecution team pointed to text message exchanges between Priest and Redfern, which showed them complaining about Kaylee-Jayde’s behavior and describing physical abuse.In one July 2020 text message, Priest reportedly told Redfern: “I’m gonna kill her… because she keeps leaving the living room or going in the kitchen, so I’ve paled [hit] her one and smacked her for [dirtying] her nappy,” BBC reported during the trial.

Detective Inspector Adam Jobson, who testified at the trial, said investigators believed the discipline Kaylee-Jayde received from her mother and her mother’s boyfriend “became increasingly forceful and violent” throughout their relationship, according to BBC.

Kaylee-Jayde Priest.West Midlands Police

Family Members Mourn, As Others Call for Harsher Justice

Priest and Redfern were not found guilty of murder, according to court records, while the mother received 15 years in prison for manslaughter and her boyfriend received 14 years. The BBC reported that prosecutors could not link the two adults directly to the toddler’s death via physical evidence, and both Priest and Redfern pointed fingers at each other when asked who was responsible for her injuries.

After the trial, Kaylee-Jayde’s grandmother Debbie Windmill released a statement mourning her granddaughter’s death, according toThe Guardian.

“I could never stop staring at the smile on her beautiful face,” the grandmother said about Kayee-Jayde. “I loved every moment watching her develop to nearly school age; preparing to buy my first grandchild her pre-school uniform was something that filled me with such happiness. I couldn’t wait to see her in it, but this opportunity was stolen from me in the most brutal of ways.”Windmill added: “Everybody deserves the gift of life. Kaylee-Jayde deserved to show the world who she could have been and what greatness she could have brought to this world. Nanny will forever hold you in her heart.”

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After Priest’s sentencing, Jobson toldThe Guardianhe “cannot imagine for one second what Kaylee-Jayde’s family must be going through,” adding that Kaylee-Jayde died “at the hands of her own mother and Nicky Priest’s boyfriend, Callum.”

“I don’t think, sadly, we will ever fully know what has happened,” the detective continued. “We’ll never get that full picture, both have not admitted their own responsibility.”

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

source: people.com