UNITED KINGDOM - VIOLET MULLEN - 15 months - (2010) / Convicted: Claire Flanagan, mother and Gary Alcock Manchester England

by twinkletoes Thu May 26, 2011 6:28 pm

Gary Alcock gets life in prison for brutally beating baby who interrupted his video game playing

By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, November 18th 2010, 1:28 PM

UNITED KINGDOM - VIOLET MULLEN - 15 months - (2010) / Convicted: Claire Flanagan, mother and Gary Alcock Manchester England Alg_resize_mug_gary-alcock_claire-flanagan

UNITED KINGDOM - VIOLET MULLEN - 15 months - (2010) / Convicted: Claire Flanagan, mother and Gary Alcock Manchester England Alg_resize_mug_gary-alcock_claire-flanagan

Police Photo
Gary Alcock, 28, and Claire Flanagan, 22, will both be heading to jail over the death of her 15-month-old baby.

UNITED KINGDOM - VIOLET MULLEN - 15 months - (2010) / Convicted: Claire Flanagan, mother and Gary Alcock Manchester England Amd_violet-mullen

UNITED KINGDOM - VIOLET MULLEN - 15 months - (2010) / Convicted: Claire Flanagan, mother and Gary Alcock Manchester England Amd_violet-mullen

Violet Mullen had 38 bruises over her body when she died, and suffered
fractured ribs, brain damage and torn internal organs, according to the
judge in the case.

An Xbox-obsessed Manchester, England,
man has been sentenced to life in prison for brutally beating to death
his girlfriend's 15-month-old baby -- for interrupting his video game
playing.

Gary Alcock, 28, will spend at least 21 years behind bars before he is eligible for parole, according to BBC News.

"In the three weeks before her death you, Gary Alcock, subjected her to repeated violence," Judge Clement Goldstone
said during the sentencing. "This was the way you chose to cope with a
demanding little girl who demanded your attention and interrupted your
time-consuming hobby of playing computer games."

According to London's The Guardian, Alcock repeatedly punched, slapped and pinched young Violet Mullen for weeks before her death in his home on Huddersfield Road. On the day she died, she was found to have some 38 bruises on her body.

Medical records indicated that Violet also suffered fractured ribs and brain damage, the judge said.

"You
caused injuries to her brain, face, arms and legs with a combination of
punches, slaps and, bordering on the sadistic, pinches," Goldstone said
to Alcock.

It was a blow to Violet's stomach that ultimately killed her, the judge said, which was so powerful it tore her internal organs.

All of this allegedly occurred with the knowledge of the baby's mother, Claire Flanagan.
The 22-year-old, who dodged a murder charge, will spend five years in
jail for causing or allowing her daughter's death by ignoring signs of
abuse.
"You could have sought medical help, you could have involved
social services, you could have asked him to leave," the judge told her.
"But any of those options would have put at risk your relationship,
which you, at the time, priced far more highly than your relationship
and love for Violet."

Flanagan denies she knew of any abuse.

"This has been a difficult year," said Paul Taylor, Violet's biological father. "I wish I got to know Violet, I wish I had that chance."