Honour Shamrock Ashworth

Parole denied for Southland man Shamrock Mitchell found guilty of manslaughter of an infant: Shamrock Fayne Mitchell, 45, was sentenced to four years, nine months prison for the manslaughter his 11-month-old son Honour Ashworth in January 2014. Initially, Mitchell had told family and authorities that Honour had suffered his fatal head injuries from falling off a couch, but later he admitted that he had shaken the baby. The statement of facts read out at sentencing in 2017 said Honour's mother Jenna Ashworth had left her son in the care of his father at his Riverton home on the night Honour was injured. Mitchell called 111 at 7.23pm and said Honour must have fallen off a couch and was not breathing. Honour was taken to Southland Hospital by ambulance and was diagnosed with hemorrhaging in the brain and eyes. He was transferred to Starship Hospital in Auckland but died the next night. A post mortem was carried out by a forensic pathologist, who said a fall from a low couch seemed unlikely to be the cause of the injuries. A second opinion from an overseas expert agreed, saying abusive head trauma had to be seriously considered. Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/110619450/parole-denie...

The soul of a grieving Southland mother was "ripped to pieces" when finding out her partner caused the death of their infant son. Jenna Ashworth's heartbreak was laid bare when she read her victim impact statement in open court on Thursday, describing the anguish the death of her 11-week-old son, Honour Ashworth, had on herself and her family. She was speaking in the High Court of Invercargill during the sentencing of her former partner, Shamrock Fayne Mitchell, 44, who earlier admitted to the manslaughter death of their son. Mitchell's initial story to family and authorities was that Honour had suffered his fatal head injuries from falling off a couch, but he later admitted he had shaken his baby. Ashworth said her soul had been ripped to pieces when she found out Mitchell had caused their son's death. She described Mitchell as a "disgusting, evil, excuse of a man". Source: https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/93968054/prison-sentence-for-fathe...