Ashley McGregor hears victim impact statements after being found guilty of manslaughter and criminal neglect of baby Alvin

The big brother of a three week old baby said he’s glad the killer’s been locked up so he can’t hurt more kids.

The mother of a three-week-old baby who was killed by her partner has told a court she has been left with a broken heart and the pain is still as excruciating as ever.

Judge Paul Muscat found the baby’s father Ashley John McGregor, 34, guilty of manslaughter and the criminal neglect of his son, Alvin.

Victim impact statements were read to the District Court on Wednesday.

Alvin’s mother, Rebecca Denton said she had always wanted another baby and was overjoyed when she found out she was pregnant with Alvin.

“The three weeks I got with him were the best three weeks of my life,” she said.

“It’s been four years since you took him from me and the pain is still as excruciating as the day the nurses told me he was gone.

“I will be forever left wondering what my baby boy would be like, what his voice would have sounded like, what his personality would have been like or how close he would have been to his big brother.

Rebecca Denton and Ashley McGregor with Alvin. Picture: Facebook.

Ashley John McGregor will be sentenced next month. Photo: Facebook

“You took one of the most important people away from me and I will never forgive you.

“Because of you I will never be able to hold my baby again and will always have a broken heart.”

Alvin’s big brother told the court he wakes up every morning with hate built up inside him towards McGregor.

“The feeling that he can take my brother and still walk and breathe kills me inside,” he said.

“I’m so glad he’s locked up so he can’t do anything to any other kids like what he did to Alvin.

Prosecutor Michael Foundas told the court in his opening that McGregor had been in a relationship with Denton who gave birth to Alvin on April 4, 2021.

He was left to take care of Alvin on April 21, 2021 while Denton was out shopping.

The court heard Denton received a panicked call from McGregor that afternoon who told her he had accidentally knocked over the bassinet, which Alvin was in.

The court heard McGregor suggested Denton blow cannabis smoke into Alvin’s face, saying he might have been suffering from withdrawals as she had used the drug throughout her pregnancy.

The court heard Alvin’s condition deteriorated over the next 40 hours before he was rushed to Noarlunga Hospital “completely unresponsive”.

In his published reasons, Judge Muscat said he was satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that McGregor inflicted the injuries on Alvin in the 10 minute window of opportunity between when he finished speaking with Denton about the bassinet incident and when she returned home.

“I find he did so because he was unable to deal with Alvin crying for 10 minutes,” he said.

Judge Muscat said McGregor took hold of Alvin around the chest, deliberately squeezed him tightly and either shook or threw him, possibly striking a surface such as the frame of the bassinet.

Ashley McGregor was found guilty of the manslaughter death of baby Alvin. Picture: Supplied

Denton – who pleaded guilty to a charge of criminal neglect over her role in not seeking medical attention for Alvin – was sentenced to over four years jail last year.

She was ordered to serve the sentence on home detention.

Chris Allen, for McGregor, told the court on Wednesday his client was appealing the convictions.

Judge Muscat will sentence McGregor next month, noting his actions were reprehensible.

“Nobody in this world would want to ever see a young baby’s life taken away from them in this way,” he said.

Originally published as Ashley McGregor hears victim impact statements after being found guilty of manslaughter and criminal neglect of baby Alvin