A father has admitted killing his two-month-old baby daughter by violently shaking her.
Joseph Ray has been charged after a near seven year probe into the death of baby Ava Ray at their flat in Prestonpans, East Lothian, on November 1, 2012.
The 32-year-old faced a murder accusation at the High Court in Glasgow but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the reduced charge of culpable homicide.
Joseph Ray, 32, (pictured) has been charged after a near seven year probe into the death of baby Ava Ray at their flat in Prestonpans, East Lothian, on November 1, 2012
Ray – who worked as a bin man – was remanded pending sentencing next month.
Baby Ava had been born on September 3, 2012 and was the first child for Ray and his partner Lauren Scott.
Prosecutor Ashley Edwards QC said the couple had ‘arguments’ after the birth mainly over who would do night time feeds.
The hearing was told today that Ray initially claimed to police he had put Ava to sleep that night in her Moses basket.
Ray added he later went to give her a feed, lifted the baby up and found her to be ‘unresponsive’.
No further details of the attack were revealed and Ray had no previous convictions at the time of the killing.
On the day of the killing, Ava was left in the care of Ray after Lauren had gone to work at a local bar at 6.30pm.
Baby Ava Ray, who died at two months old after being in the care of her father Joseph Ray
Baby Ava was rushed to Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children where tests revealed her brain had been ‘starved’ of oxygen’
An hour later, he unsuccessfully tried to get his aunt to come over to ‘watch’ Ava while he went for a shower.
Around 10.50pm, Ray was then racing to a neighbour after claiming he had found his daughter to be ‘cold to the touch’.
Miss Edwards: ‘He was described as upset and crying.’
A 999 was made and Ray was told to carry out CPR before mercy crews arrived.
She continued: ‘A paramedic observed immediately that the baby was in cardiac arrest, white in colour, limp and unresponsive.’
Ava was rushed to Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children where tests revealed her brain had been ‘starved’ of oxygen.
It was concluded Ava had died due to a ‘head injury’, that had been ’caused by trauma’
Despite efforts, the baby tragically died early the next morning. The court heard it was concluded at that time there were ‘no apparent suspicious circumstances’.
Ava’s death was initially treated as ‘unascertained’.
Miss Edwards then told how, between 2014 and 2018, that ‘various experts’ were consulted about what happened.
She added: ‘Following protracted discussions…the medical consensus is now that the pattern of injury…was caused by trauma.’
It was concluded Ava had died due to a ‘head injury’.
Ray had been held by police in October 2013 but was later freed and not charged with any offence.
It was in March 2019 that he first appeared in court in connection with his daughter’s death.
He faced a murder accusation at the High Court in Glasgow (pictured) but prosecutors accepted his guilty plea to the reduced charge of culpable homicide
Ray has since been guilty of two ‘domestic assaults’ on Lauren Scott and it is not known if the couple are still together.
He had been accused of assaulting Ava on an earlier occasion and repeatedly attacking Lauren.
However, prosecutors accepted his not guilty pleas to those two charges and he had been out on bail, but was remanded by judge Lady Stacey.
Detective Inspector David Pinkney said in a statement: ‘Ray took the life of his daughter. Just months old, Ava should have been safest in the care of her father – instead he inflicted injuries that she would never recover from.
‘I would like to thank Ava’s extended family for their support throughout the investigation and I sincerely hope that the punishment handed to Ray offers them some form of closure so that they can begin to move on with their lives.’