Give my daughter justice

Russell Hambleton will be in court today to watch his daughter’s killer be sent to prison.

Connor Gibson, 23, of Melrose Avenue, faces jail after confessing to the manslaughter of Mr Hambleton’s daughter Kacey.

Mr Hambleton said: “I just want justice – I want to see him pay for what he has done.”

Speaking to The Gazette from his Sherwood Avenue home in Layton, her devestated dad said he is still struggling to come to terms with the death of his daughter in April.

Mr Hambleton added: “It was one thing when I realised my daughter had died but, months later, to find out someone has admitted to doing it, it’s a different reality.

“I miss her madly.”

Gibson pleaded guilty to the charge at a hearing on Monday. He denied murdering her, a plea the prosection accepted.

The court heard Kacey was left with injuries that would be expected if someone had been in a car crash after being shaken to death in a fit of rage. It was claimed Gibson “lost his temper”.

Mr Hambelton said: “I knew what had happened from the start.

“It has been a long time – now I just want closure, justice. It is bad enough when you hear about this sort of thing on the news, never mind when it’s you own daughter.”

Police were called to an address on Granby Road, Layton, at around 10am on April 10, where Kacey was found unresponsive by paramedics.

She was initially taken by ambulance to Blackpool Victoria Hospital but later transferred by air ambulance to Alder Hey in a critical condition, where she died of her injuries.

A post mortem established that Kacey had suffered severe head injuries, a lacerated liver, along with bruising to the lining of her stomach. There was also bruising to other parts of her body.

In a tribute to his daughter, Mr Hambleton said: “My little princess is gone and I feel like my heart has been ripped out.

“Kacey was a beautiful little girl with so much to live for, she has been taken from us far too soon.”