A man formerly from Dagenham has been jailed after allowing the death of an 11-week-old baby who was murdered by his partner.

Muritala Olaiya-Imam, 36, was jailed for ten years at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday (October 20).

His partner, Eloddie Goncalves-Taborda, was given a life term at the same hearing, to serve a minimum of 17 years, for her son Malik’s 2020 murder. She formerly lived in Harlow, Essex.

Det Sgt Mike Ferguson said following the sentencing that it was a “traumatic, challenging, and difficult investigation”.

Essex Police were called at around 10am on August 19, 2020 to an address in Harlow after Malik was found unresponsive by his mother.

Despite the best efforts of paramedics, Malik was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem report found that he had died of a head injury. An investigation was launched by police into his death.

Goncalves-Taborda was asked to provide a urine sample by police for drug and alcohol analysis, but officers discovered that she and her partner had contaminated the sample by mixing their urine samples.

Read More: Post-mortem test results revealed after Romford baby death

A blood sample provided by Goncalves-Taborda had later identified the presence of cannabis and alcohol, placing her one-and-a-half times over the legal drink drive limit.

She had told the officers that when she woke up at 9.30am, she found the baby “lifeless” in bed beside her and she called for an ambulance immediately.

But police said Malik was found to have suffered 21 rib fractures, broken wrists and his skull was fractured in two places too.

The injuries were indicative of shaking and a blunt trauma to his head, the force added.

At a seven-week trial in July, experts confirmed that these injuries were more likely non-accidental and the majority of them were caused between two and 12 hours before his death.

The baby’s wrist, the experts suggested, was fractured three to six days before the death.

Both Goncalves-Taborda and Olaiya-Imam repeatedly denied responsibility for Malik’s death and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Olaiya-Imam told the investigating team during interviews that, although he wasn’t present at the time of Malik’s death, he was “distraught" and loved the boy.

He denied being involved in any child cruelty and that he was unaware of the earlier wrist fracture.

Olaiya-Imam was charged with allowing the death of a child. Goncalves-Taborda  was charged with murder and child neglect while both were charged with perverting the course of justice.

Both denied the charges when they appeared at Colchester Magistrates’ Court on January 19 2022.

They were later convicted of the charges at the conclusion of a seven-week trial at Chelmsford Crown Court in July this year.

Goncalves-Taborda chose not to give evidence. She was also convicted of assault on an emergency worker.

At the time of conviction, Det Ch Supt Stuart Truss said: "Malik died at the hands of those who should have cared for him most."