24 Hours in Police Custody viewers were left sickened as Monday night’s episode explored a case of horrific child abuse.
The episode investigated a baby-shaking case from 2017 which saw a seven-week-old baby sustain terrible injuries.
The most recent instalment focused on the investigation into father Daniel Gilbert, 21, and mother Vikki, 19, who were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and taken in for police interview.
Paramedics resuscitated the baby before taking the child to Luton and Dunstable Hospital and alerted police as a result of the severity of the baby’s injuries. The critically ill infant was then moved to intensive care at Great Ormond Street hospital.
The investigation saw a police detective discuss the baby’s condition with the parents, explaining: ‘We now know that he has sustained injuries to his brain, eyes and ribs.
‘He’s got cerebral palsy in four limbs, he’s potentially blind, deaf, he’s suffered bleeding at the back of the eyeballs – that’s not just a bleed, that’s multiple bleeds. He has the inability to eat or drink without the help of tubes in his stomach.
‘He’ll need 24 care for the remainder of his life. It’s unlikely there’ll be any improvement in his current condition.’
As the episode explained, it’s one of the hardest crimes to prove as there are no witnesses.
Daniel responded ‘no comment’ when questioned about the incident, while Vikki spoke more openly with the investigators.
‘At about 5 past 11 Daniel was taking him upstairs and then about quarter past, Daniel came running down the stairs with him in his arms and he was floppy,’ she explains. ‘I was so confused. My first reaction was to go and get my mum.’
Daniel and Vikki were eventually released, with the case being sent to the Prosecution’s complex crime unit.
As the programme explained, Daniel was found guilty of grievous bodily harm with intent 10 months later and was sentenced to three years in prison. The episode also stated that the baby had been adopted by the foster parents and was being cared for.
Many viewers took to social media during the episode, with users calling the parents’ actions ’vile’, calling the episode a ‘tough watch’ and saying that they ‘felt sick’ throughout.
‘#24hoursinpolicecustody Is a tough watch tonight. Your baby is critically ill and you go no comment,’ one said.
‘Makes me sick to my stomach.’
‘This is heartbreaking and sickening,how anyone can harm a baby is beyond words,’ another added.
24 Hours in Police Custody is available to watch on All4.
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