A DAD has confessed to killing his two-week-old baby daughter 45 years after shaking her to death.
Terence McArthur, 67, fatally shook his premature newborn baby Tracey when she wouldn't stop crying.
McArthur confessed after what a court was told was a "life crippled by contrition" over Tracey's death in June, 1976.
He admitted manslaughter when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court in June.
Prosecutor Lee Bremridge said McArthur made confessions to police in Manchester and hospital staff in 2017 after saying: "It's my fault she is dead".
Jailing him for nine years, Mr Justice Garnham said McArthur has a "short temper and aggressive nature".
'AGGRESSIVE NATURE'
At the time of Tracey's death McArthur told his partner Linda Wilkes, Tracey's mum, that the baby had been screaming.
He said he went downstairs at their home in Plymouth, Devon, and picked up the crying baby from her cot and shook her until she went quiet.
The judge said McArthur would not let Linda call an ambulance.
A police inquiry and postmortem didn't reveal the truth – and Linda was too scared to say what had gone on.
It is an extremely sorry case.
McArthur later told a social worker when he had done and she reported it to her bosses and police, but no action was taken and the case was closed.
In May, 2017 McArthur told police and health professionals that he had killed her – and a fresh police investigation was launched.
The judge said McArthur suffered a 'momentary loss of control' and had shown some remorse.
The judge said: "It is an extremely sorry case."
Tracey was born on May 18th 1976 and died on June 1st 1976 and a post mortem concluded she died from a brain haemorrhage.
'PETRIFIED OF HIM'
Linda feared for herself and her other daughter Alison until she summoned the courage to leave McArthur.
She said:"It got to the stage where I was petrified of him."
Linda said she hoped the coroner and medics at the post mortem would have worked out what had happened and her partner would be taken away by police – but that did not happen.
She said McArthur had smoked cannabis on the morning when Tracey was crying and had grabbed the baby by her arms because she would not stop crying.
She said McArthur said: "What have I done to her, what have I done. I did not mean to do it. I just shook her."
"Mac said he was sorry and did not mean to do it," said Linda who is now 76.
Linda, now a grandmother and great grandmother, said in a victim personal statement that she did not hate McArthur.
But she said: "I only wish I had said more at the time Tracey died. Mac made me feel worthless."
McArthur, now 67, has committed 109 offences, mostly of dishonesty and drug taking and supplying.
His barrister said:"He has spent his life crippled by contrition in this case."
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