Volatile Father on Trial for the Murder of His Severely Injured Infant

In 2014, at the family's Camden bedsit, Kyle Kitchen, aged 38, allegedly inflicted severe harm upon his eight-week-old daughter, Primrose Kane, by shaking her with such force that she sustained a fractured skull and serious brain injuries. Earlier that year, Kitchen had been arrested and cautioned for similar behavior, and shortly after the incident, Primrose’s mother, Kenzey Kane, was convicted of failing to protect her child.

Primrose, who was placed into the care of her maternal grandmother, lived with profound disabilities throughout her short life. The traumatic injury led to multiple neurodevelopmental delays, cerebral palsy, progressive physical deformities, and drug-resistant epilepsy, leaving her entirely reliant on caregivers for daily functions. Despite these severe challenges, she attended a special school in south-east London, where her headteacher described her as having a distinct personality.

After years of struggling with her condition, Primrose’s health deteriorated, leading to repeated hospital admissions for problems such as uncontrolled epilepsy, breathing and feeding difficulties, and other complications. The severity of her condition necessitated a do-not-resuscitate order, and she ultimately passed away at the age of six in 2021. At the time of her death, while sleeping next to her grandmother in a double bed, she was found unresponsive, with a post-mortem confirming that her death was due to the traumatic head injury inflicted during infancy.

The trial at London’s Old Bailey is centered on proving that Kyle Kitchen’s previous actions not only resulted in grievous bodily harm with intent but also directly led to the eventual death of his daughter. Prosecutor Jennifer Knight KC argued that the evidence clearly establishes the connection between the initial assault and Primrose’s premature death, making the current murder charge a continuation of the earlier violence. Kitchen, who denies the charge, appears in court as the trial seeks to clarify the extent of his responsibility for both the injury and subsequent fatal outcome.