Kyhesha-Lee death: Matthew Lee Williamson sentenced to nine years in jail for manslaughter

THE mother of a three-year-old girl, whose father was today sentenced by a Brisbane court for her manslaughter, has slammed the sentence he received.

A FATHER who fatally punched his three-year-old daughter in the stomach and failed to get treatment for her bowel injury let her die in a slow agonising way, a judge said, before jailing him for nine years.

Justice Roslyn Atkinson said 32-year-old Matthew Lee Williamson’s treatment of his daughter Kyhesha-Lee Joughin was often “cruel, callous or indifferent” before her death on March 30, 2013.

She said Kyhesha-Lee was yelled at, sworn at, kept locked in her bedroom and physically assaulted by her father over many weeks.

Matthew Lee Williamson has been sentenced to nine years in jail for the manslaughter of his three-year-old daughter Kyhesha-Lee Joughin.

Kyhesha-Lee’s mother, Danielle Joughin, 29, said outside court she was pleased to see Williamson jailed for nine years, but she did not feel she had received justice.

Ms Joughin, wearing a butterfly brooch because her daughter loved butterflies, said nine years did not compare with the loss of her daughter’s life.

“To think he took her from me out of spite and this is the way he was going to treat her afterwards. It’s disgusting,” Ms Joughin said.

She said it was quite disturbing to hear details of the injuries inflicted on her daughter during sentencing.

“She was bubbly, she was energetic, she was funny, she had a little Miss Diva attitude and I miss that about her, just like her little brother Joey, full of energy, full of love,” Ms Joughin said of her daughter.

She said she and her family were heartbroken and every day was a task.

“Her memory will never be forgotten, there are pictures on the wall, we’re always talking about her,” Ms Joughin said.

Justice Atkinson told the Supreme Court in Brisbane that if Williamson had sought medical care for the little girl, her physical injuries could have been treated.

“Your failure to seek medical treatment for her ensured that a treatable injury caused her slow and painful death,” Justice Atkinson said.

The little girl lived with her father at Petrie, within 500 metres of an ambulance station, a medical centre and a pharmacy.

Justice Atkinson declared Williamson was a serious violent offender, meaning he must serve 80 per cent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.

The judge said Kyhesha-Lee was also subjected to repeated sexual assaults, which Williamson either inflicted or was callously indifferent to protecting her from.

But Wiilliamson was not charged with any sexual offences.

“She lived in a depraved, disgusting environment,” Justice Atkinson said.

Christopher Kent, a flatmate of Williamson, who earlier pleaded guilty in 2016 to manslaughter, because he turned a blind eye to the girl’s injuries, was sentenced to two years jail, which was immediately suspended because of time he had already served.

He gave evidence in Williamson’s sentence.

Matthew Lee Williamson pleaded guilty in December to manslaughter but disputed that he caused the significant injuries that killed his daughter.