Chef Jailed For Life For Murdering Step Daughter, 1, In ‘Savage’

Eniola Olayemi

A Chef has been jailed for life over the murder of his one-year-old stepdaughter in a ‘savage’ attack

Chef Martin Johnson was handed over a sentence of at least 19 years to life in prison before any consideration for parole.

Johnson, 20, left Erin Tomkins with multiple injuries when he was supposed to look after her at her home in Sheffield, a court heard.

A judge at Sheffield Crown Court said these injuries could have been caused by shaking, as he described how Johnson also injured Erin, who was a few weeks short of her second birthday, on other occasions.

The youngster suffered a broken arm at one point and 10 fractures to her spine, all caused by her stepfather.

The judge, Mr Justice Goss, sentenced Johnson to life in prison with a minimum tariff of 19 years as he remarked that the defendant had shown no remorse.

Johnson was sentenced after he was found guilty of murder and two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent by a jury which deliberated for under two hours on Friday.

He told police Erin had collapsed in front of him as they played but prosecutors told the jury of four men and eight women how medical experts found multiple injuries.

The jury heard how Erin was taken to hospital on Monday 21 May, 2018, after Johnson phoned 999 from his partner Kira Tomkins’s home in Leighton Road.

Staff at Sheffield Children’s Hospital found bruises on her face and body as well as bruising and bleeding to the surface of her brain, which was also swollen, and bleeding to both eyes.