A father who appeared on Channel 5 show The Accused has today been jailed for murdering his daughter – 11 years after violently shaking her as a baby.
Kyle Kitchen, 38, attacked eight-week-old Primrose Kane at their flat in Camden, northwest London, on November 3 2014.
Primrose, who was left profoundly disabled and placed in the care of her grandmother, died on May 17 2021 when she was six.
Kitchen was today given a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years but he has already served nine years in prison for assaulting his daughter.
He will therefore serve a remaining seven years, eight months and 12 days of the minimum term he was handed today.
Kitchen was cautioned by police for slapping his partner Kenzey Kane around the face more than once while she was holding Primrose when she was just three weeks old.
He was then convicted of grievous bodily harm on Primrose in 2016 while former charity worker Kane was convicted of causing or allowing serious injury to a child and child cruelty.
The couple featured in the Channel 5 documentary ‘The Accused’ in 2017 filmed during their trial, which highlighted Kitchen’s jealousy of the attention his baby was given by Kenzey.
Kyle Kitchen, 38, attacked Primrose Kane at their flat in Camden, northwest London, on 3 November 2014
Kane claimed her boyfriend had called their daughter a ‘greedy c***’ and sent her a text message admitting his daughter was not safe in his care days before the assault in 2014.
Kitchen was charged with murder following his daughter’s death in 2021.
He still denied assaulting his daughter at a trial earlier this year and wept as he told the court he performed CPR on Primrose when she stopped breathing.
‘I’d die for my little girl, I swear I don’t know what happened,’ he said.
Kitchen was asked about a post on Kenzey’s Facebook page entitled ‘my confession about Primrose.’
In the post he said: ‘She is unwell because I shook her and caused her to stop breathing.
‘Whether intentional or not I can’t say.
‘I’m a very messed up person and the police can use this as evidence because I don’t care because I am going to take my life as soon as I’m convicted because I deserve that.
‘I’m a child abuser and Kenzey didn’t do nothing to that little girl.’
Kitchen said the post was not true and claimed he made it up because Kenzey’s family were accusing him of shaking the baby after expert reports suggested the baby had been shaken.
He said: ‘The harassment, essentially bullying from multiple parties about new reports which came out with this shaken baby syndrome theory and I’m constantly being bombarded, that’s why this message took place.
‘I was being bombarded like all the time I’m in very difficult emotional state, I’m homeless going pillar to post in my head being supported by a mental health crisis team.’
Wearing a checked shirt Kitchen showed no emotion as he was jailed for life today.
Mr Justice Murray said: ‘Unless and until you acknowledge what you did to your daughter we will never know how or precisely when you assaulted Primrose.
‘Although Primrose had survived her assault she suffered as a result of her injuries complex and profound disability for the rest of her life.
‘She was admitted to hospital several times.
‘Her quality of life was very low.
He added: ‘You have never showed any remorse or accepted responsibility for Primrose’s death.’
Prosecutor Jenny Burgess said the incident may have arisen as Kitchen became frustrated with being unable to stop Primrose crying.
She said Kitchen and Kenzey had disagreements about the care of Primrose and Kitchen felt she did not trust him with the child.
Jane Bickerstaff, KC, defending Kitchen, said it is normally ‘fatigue or frustration’ which causes a parent to ‘lose the plot for a few moments’.
‘Whilst the harm caused is always at the highest level one can possibly imagine, the culpability of these situations is usually at a relatively low level compared to other types of murder.
‘There is usually no premeditation whatsoever and there is no evidence there was here.
‘The reason defendants have such trouble admitting and acknowledging what happened is because the consequences are so horrific and it is difficult to accept- and they have to live with it for the rest to their lives.
‘He loved that little girl with everything he had and he’s had to live with the suffering that she suffered.’
She said Kitchen spoke to Primrose on the phone daily while he was in prison.
Ms Bickerstaff said Kitchen and Kenzey were ‘two immature individuals not entirely equipped, because of their own inadequacies, background and demons, to look after a baby as well as society would expect.’
She said it was a ‘toxic relationship’ on both sides.
Ms Bickerstaff said Kitchen has been teaching people English in prison and has been trained by Samaritans to listen to other prisoners when they are going through a tough time.
He has recently been diagnosed with ADHD.
Prosecutor Jennifer Knight, KC, earlier said Primrose was born on 6 September 2014.
‘Kyle Kitchen and Kenzey Kane had been in a relationship for just over a year when Kenzey Kane became pregnant with Primrose. She was their first child.
‘It’s fair to day that the relationship between was frequently volatile.
‘On 29 September 2014, when Primrose was just three weeks old, Kyle Kitchen was arrested and cautioned for common assault following an argument about Primrose’s crying, during which Kyle Kitchen slapped Kenzey Kane around the face more than once, while she was holding Primrose.
‘In the early weeks of Primrose’s life, Kyle Kitchen’s grandparents Anne and Ernest Kitchen saw the couple with Primrose on several occasions.
‘They noticed that as the weeks progressed, the couple seemed to be getting increasingly irritable with each other and it seemed to them that that Kyle Kitchen liked to be in control of how things were done with Primrose.
‘On Sunday 2 November, they spent the day with Kenzey Kane and Primrose.
‘Anne Kitchen noticed that Kenzey seemed a bit flustered and rather disorganised, which she said was unusual.
‘Once Kenzey Kane arrived home, she and Kyle Kitchen were alone with their daughter Primrose for the rest of 2 November 2014.
‘At 05.54am on 3 November 2014 Kenzey Kane called 111.
‘She told the call handler that Primrose had been twitching her head and making odd movements and sounds during the night and she said that she was now very floppy and they couldn’t wake her up.
‘During that call Kyle Kitchen can be heard in the background telling Kenzey Kane that Primrose has got blood around her nose and that she isn’t breathing.
‘The call handler began to give instructions for CPR and paramedics arrived at 06.03am and found Primrose floppy and unresponsive. She was not breathing and she had a very slow heart rate.
‘The paramedics began resuscitation, but Primrose remained unconscious.
‘She was taken to the Royal Free Hospital and on arrival there, Primrose was received and treated by the paediatric team in the emergency department.
‘They continued resuscitation and succeeded in restoring her heart rate. Primrose was intubated, ventilated and sedated.
‘A CT scan was performed which revealed a skull fracture in the left parietal area with associated soft tissue swelling.
‘Kyle Kitchen and Kenzey Kane were informed that Primrose had suffered a serious brain injury, but neither offered any explanation of Primrose’s injuries. Kenzey Kane said ‘it’s not like we knocked her or anything’.
Primrose was transferred to Great Ormond Street Hospital and further scans found extensive injuries to the head.
She was discharged on 16 December 2014 and placed in the care of her grandmother Maria Kane.
Primrose’s injuries left her with complex and profound ongoing neuro-disability.
‘she was a gravely disabled child from the time that she was injured,’ said the prosecutor.
‘A large multi-disciplinary team of health care professionals was needed to manage Primrose’s condition.’
Experts found Primrose’s injuries were non-accidental and had been caused by ‘vigorous shaking combined with an impact with some kind of unyielding surface or object that had fractured her skull.’
Kitchen and Kane were arrested on 4 November 2014 and stood trial at Blackfriars Crown Court two years later.
Kitchen was convicted of two offences of causing grievous bodily harm with intent relating to Primrose’s fractured skull and brain injuries.
He was jailed for 18 years in 2015 for causing GBH with intent to Primrose which was reduced to 15 years on appeal in 2016.
He served seven and a half years and was about to be released when he was re-arrested and returned to jail when Primrose died.
Kane was convicted of causing or allowing serious injury to a child and child cruelty and jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Primrose had developed multiple neuro-developmental and physical problems including cognitive delay, cerebral palsy and an inability to communicate verbally.
In 2016 the severity of her condition led to the implementation of a do-not-resuscitate order.
‘Despite her profound disability, Primrose was educated at Willow Dene School in Plumstead, a special school for children with complex learning and developmental needs from the age of nearly three-years-old until her death.
‘Primrose’s Head Teacher Rachel Harrison described Primrose as a characterful child.
‘In late April 2021 Primrose was admitted to Queen Elizabeth Hospital with a chest infection. She was treated with antibiotics and allowed to return home the following day.
‘By May 2021 she seemed to have recovered from her chest infection.
‘Maria Kane noticed that her breathing had deteriorated but she thought that was due to the progression of Primrose’s, by now very severe, scoliosis which impeded her lung function.
‘On the night of 16 May 2021, Primrose slept with Maria Kane in her double-bed as usual.
‘A little after midnight Maria Kane gave Primrose her nebuliser and the pair fell asleep at about 1am.
‘Just before 5am on 17 May 2021, Maria Kane awoke and she immediately noticed that Primrose was quiet and not breathing in her usually noisy, laboured way.
‘Touching her face Maria Kane found that Primrose was cold and realised that she was not breathing.
‘Paramedics attended but due to the DNR order in place, they made no attempt at resuscitation.’
Kitchen has convictions for burglaries and theft between 2008 and 2016.
Kitchen, previously of Queens Crescent, Camden, denied but was convicted of murder.
