Oliver Mailey: Father posted sickening tributes after murdering eight-weeks-old baby to deflect suspicion
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BURNLEY, LANCASHIRE: A cannabis-smoking man apparently shared a slew of tributes to portray himself as a devastated father after he murdered his 8-weeks-old baby boy by shaking him ferociously with force comparable to a car crash or falling from a tall building.
Oliver Mailey, 26, has been jailed for life with a minimum of 16 years after he was found guilty of the murder of his son Abel-Jax Mailey at their home in Burnley, Lancashire on November 27, 2021. Mailey, who was arrested on November 28, initially claimed he found the infant limp and lifeless in his cot, but later admitted that he had shaken the baby and pled guilty to manslaughter. After his arrest, Mailey even pointed suspicion towards the baby's mother, Mollie Gorton, and tried to portray himself as a devastated father by posting a series of pictures and messages calling his victim 'Spud', according to Daily Mail.
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Saying how much he loved and missed him, Mailey shared a picture of himself cuddling Abel-Jax in his arms. "Words couldn't explain how much I need you and miss you spud daddy loves you and will never stop doing [so]," he wrote in the caption. Another Facebook post captured him sporting a tattoo on his neck, which he apparently got after Abel-Jex’s death. The tattoo noticeably featured his son’s name with a pair of angel wings and a baby handprint.
This came before the court was told that Mailey shook the baby with the force of a car collision, causing him seven fractured ribs and a bleed on the brain. The incident took place on November 27, when Oliver was in sole charge of the baby Mailey at their Burnley home after the baby's mother, Mollie Gorton, left for work at 11.15 am. Less than an hour after she left, the eight-week-old suffered serious injuries and needed to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. At that time, Mailey frantically called Mollie and told her that there is something wrong with their son.
He reportedly told the mother that he had been changing Abel-Jax and he unexpectedly went limp, so he fed him but then his arms went floppy. Abel-Jax was rushed to Royal Blackburn Hospital before being transferred to Manchester Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead just two days later. The medical experts noted that the infant died of a brain injury, caused by being shaken ferociously. Mailey was arrested on the evening of November 28 but was charged with murder in July 2022. During his trial, he even confessed to shaking his son in a "moment of madness" as Abel-Jax wouldn't stop crying.
As per DailyMail, Mailey even pointed suspicion on Mollie but she was soon cleared of any wrongdoing. In a statement, she said, "I had to plan my baby's funeral and I didn't know where to start or how to do it. My home haunts me as it is filled with so many memories. I live in my bedroom upstairs because I don't like to be downstairs. I don't like being alone because when I am on my own I think about it. I do not trust people and don't think I will trust a man anymore."