A mother convicted of manslaughter in the killing of her 3-year-old daughter posted TikTok videos mourning her 'angel' after the child's death
- A mother convicted of manslaughter in the killing of her daughter posted TikToks about the death.
- The TikToks show Nicola Priest mourning her 3-year-old daughter.
- Priest was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Friday.
A 23-year-old woman found guilty of manslaughter in the killing of her 3-year-old daughter posted TikTok videos about the death in the weeks afterward.
According to publicly available court information, Nicola Priest was found guilty of child cruelty and manslaughter in the August 9, 2020, death of her daughter, Kaylee-Jayde Priest, in the Solihull, West Midlands area of the United Kingdom. On Friday, Priest received a sentence of 15 years in jail, the BBC reported.
Videos posted to @nikkip210, an account that appears to belong to Priest, featuring footage of her and her daughter mourned Kaylee-Jayde in the weeks after her 2020 death.
One video presented an old clip of the daughter cuddling her mother's belly and pictures of her daughter, with captions like "rip my baby" and Priest saying she "will never forget" her "darling" and "angel."
In another TikTok uploaded a week after her daughter's death, Priest appeared to cry while lip-syncing the lyrics, "I should have done better, I'm sorry mom and dad," from the song "To My Parents" by Anna Clendening.
Days after posting those videos about her daughter, Priest shared a score of clips of her dancing to rap and R&B songs. Her last available video, posted in September 2020, showed several makeup purchases.
As reported by The Mirror and Daily Mail, Priest posted several other TikToks in the months before the killing that were since deleted that reportedly showed Priest grabbing her daughter's limbs and moving them in sync with music.
It is unclear whether these posts were taken down by Priest herself or TikTok, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Callum Redfern, Priest's convicted ex-boyfriend and coconspirator in the crime, was also found guilty of manslaughter in the killing and sentenced to 14 years in prison on Friday, according to the BBC.
The BBC reported that the prosecutor Andrew Smith told the jury that Kaylee-Jayde's injuries and death came after a "sustained assault" during a period when the daughter was alone with Priest and Redfern. The West Midlands Police Department said in a press release that Kaylee-Jayde "suffered catastrophic abdominal and chest injuries, including fractured ribs."
According to The Mirror, Justice David Andrew Foxton said during Friday's sentencing that the couple had been trying to have sex the night of August 8, 2020, and became infuriated when Kaylee-Jayde did not want to go to sleep and wanted to play instead. This led to the beating and subsequent death, Foxton said.
Priest, who called emergency services after Kaylee-Jade died, had a history of mistreating her daughter, according to neighbors who testified in court. The BBC reported that neighbors said they'd seen Priest strike and ultimately inflict bruises on Kaylee-Jayde.