Dallas Marc Kelly: Man jailed for life for murdering his four-month-old son in Cumbria
A man has been jailed for life and must serve at least 18 years in prison for murdering his four-month-old baby son.
Reece Kelly, 31, from Workington, Cumbria, denied any involvement in Dallas Marc Kelly’s death after the baby died from a traumatic head injury in October 2021.
However, he changed his story at trial and pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of his son.
He admitted shaking Dallas but claimed he had no intention to cause him serious harm or death.
The jury didn’t believe him and he was found guilty of the baby’s murder earlier this month after a two-week trial.
He was also convicted of child cruelty – as was Dallas’s mother, Georgia Wright, 23, who was jailed for three years.
She was found not guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child.
Georgia Wright, Dallas’s mother, was found guilty of child cruelty and jailed for three years. Pic: Cumbria Police
The court heard that a pathologist found Dallas had bleeds over his brain and his eyes – often associated with deliberate head injuries.
He also had fingertip bruising on his chest, consistent with being squeezed, and six fractured ribs.
Five of those were said to have been caused around the time of his death and not likely to have been caused by CPR.
The other fracture was about six to 12 weeks old, according to the pathologist, who said there was no natural disease that could have caused his death, which resulted from a head injury.
Neither of the boy’s parents could explain his injured ribs and experts who examined Dallas said all of his injuries were consistent with forceful shaking.
Paramedics attended after Kelly called an ambulance at 12.25pm on 19 October 2021 to say Dallas was not breathing.
Dallas’s mother was at work at the time, having left Kelly to look after him.
Paramedics gave first aid at the scene and Dallas was taken to hospital, but he died at 8.40pm.
Prosecutors said Kelly and Wright led chaotic lives and were addicts who appeared to prioritise drugs over food.
Video evidence from a bedroom was shown in court showing Dallas crying for prolonged periods.
‘A life tragically cut short’
Victoria Agulló, senior Crown prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Dallas’s life was tragically cut short by his father, who should have loved and cared for him.
“Throughout the police investigation and up until the first day of the trial Reece Kelly denied that he had caused any injuries to baby Dallas.
“Even after admitting manslaughter, he claimed that he had no intention to cause him serious harm, however the evidence the jury heard throughout the trial convinced them otherwise.
“Everyone who has been involved in this case has been deeply moved by the tragic circumstances of Dallas’s death.”
She added: “Both his parents let him down badly, their chaotic, drug-filled lifestyle and lack of basic care is staggering.
“This is a case that will stay with me. I can only hope that those that loved and cared for Dallas can feel some sense of justice with the outcome of this case.”
In a statement through Cumbria Police, Detective Superintendent Jenny Beattie, who led the investigation, said: “Dallas was a four-month-old boy who was entirely defenceless from the actions of his parents, Reece Kelly and Georgia Wright.
“Any child, particularly one as young as Dallas, should have parents who care deeply for them and act in their child’s best interest at all times. Sadly, this was not the case for Dallas.
“There is never any excuse or reason to cause harm or distress to a child and I am pleased that both Reece Kelly and Georgia Wright have been held accountable for their actions.”
A man has been convicted of drugging and raping 10 women in London and China between 2019 and 2023.
Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, filmed nine of the attacks as “souvenirs”, and kept a trophy box of women’s belongings, jurors in his trial were told.
Warning: This article contains details of sexual offences
He was accused in court of drugging and raping three women in London and seven in China between 2019 and 2023.
Jurors at Inner London Crown Court found him guilty of 11 charges of rape against 10 women, including two who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.
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Moment police arrest student guilty of rape
The mechanical engineering student was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol.
He was cleared of two further counts of possession of an extreme pornographic image and one of possession of MDMA with intent to commit a sexual offence.
The trial heard Zou kept a ‘lost property box’ full of women’s belongings. Pic: Met Police
The jury has not reached verdicts on four counts of possession of drugs with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Zou – who first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen’s University before moving to London in 2019 – showed no visible reaction as the verdicts were read out in court.
Catherine Farrelly KC, prosecuting, told jurors during the trial that Zou “presents as a smart and charming young man” but is “also a persistent sexual predator; a voyeur and a rapist”.
A discreet camera belonging to Zou. Pic: Met Police
Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China, the court heard.
The jury heard how he would secretly film his attacks using a mobile device and hidden cameras, and was shown evidence found on SD cards at his accommodation of him raping unconscious women in London and in China.
Senior Crown Prosecution Service prosecutor Saira Pike thanked the “incredibly strong and brave” women who came forward to report his “heinous” crimes.
“Zou is a serial rapist and a danger to women,” she said.
“In some instances, we have not been able to identify Zou’s victims. Without knowing who these women are, we have not been able to support them through a deeply distressing period of time.
“We have always been determined to seek justice for both the unidentified and identified victims in this case.”
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