A stepfather who shook a five-month-old baby to death in a fit of rage has been jailed for 19 years.

Thomas Morgan, 29, had a heated argument with his ex-girlfriend before he caused a catastrophic brain injury to baby Jensen-Lee Dougal.

The ‘happy and healthy’ baby suffered numerous fractures and extensive bleeding in both eyes in the attack.

Father-of-two Morgan was in a relationship with Jensen-Lee’s mother, Jordan Dougal, and was treated as the baby’s stepfather at the time of the murder.

He had been looking after Jensen-Lee at home while Jordan was at work on March 30, 2024. 

After an argument with his ex-partner Georgia Griffiths, prosecutors said Morgan was ‘in no state to look after a child’.

Jensen-Lee’s injuries were described as ‘the most severe case’ one doctor had ever seen, saying the force of the attack was similar to a traffic collision.  

The child died in his mother’s arms in the hospital the following day.   

At Swansea Crown Court, Morgan was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 19 years. 

Thomas Morgan, 29, had a heated argument with his ex-girlfriend before he caused a catastrophic brain injury to baby Jensen-Lee Dougal

Morgan denied inflicting serious injuries on Jensen-Lee and said he tried to save the baby after he fell ill in his care, believing he had choked on his own sick.

However, he was found guilty of murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent following a trial at Swansea Crown Court.

In a tearful statement, Jordan told the court she suffered ‘overwhelming grief, trauma, and emotional pain’ following the death of her son.

The 24-year-old said: ‘I never had the chance to hear my son say he loved me and I never heard him call me Mammy.

‘I will never see him take his first step, go to school or see the person he would go on to become. He was taken from me.’

Jordan said Morgan held the role of step father – and said: ‘That breach of trust is something I struggle with every day.’

She said her pain was made worse when callous Morgan held a gender reveal party with his new partner on the weekend of the anniversary of her son’s death.

She added: ‘It has been distressing to see the defendant continue his life while our family is devastated. I don’t think I have seen genuine remorse which shows the understanding of the lifelong damage caused.

‘I feel like my son’s life has been treated as something that can simply be moved on from.

‘He was able to build a future while my son had none.’

Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, said Morgan ‘seriously abused the trust placed in him’ by shaking Jensen-Lee in an ‘extremely violent attack’.

Morgan had a heated argument with his ex-partner, Georgia Griffiths, before he was left alone with Jensen Lee, while his mother went to work.

In a series of ‘angry and abusive’ text messages, Morgan called Ms Griffiths a ‘stinking little rat’ and a ‘stinking little dog’,

He also said: ‘Imagine being some coked-up whore’ and told her ‘You are nothing but a rat and always will be’.

Ms Rees said the argument ‘flipped some kind of switch’ in Morgan, leaving him ‘angry and aggressive’ and in no state to look after a child.

She said: ‘With his temper raised and his fuse short, his temper must have snapped and he shook Jensen-Lee with such violence that he caused the devastating injuries that led to Jensen-Lee dying in his mother’s arms.’

Jensen-Lee’s injuries were described as ‘the most severe case’ one doctor had ever seen, saying the force of the attack was similar to a traffic collision

While at work, Ms Dougal received a call from Morgan in which he told her the baby was choking and had stopped breathing, the court heard.

Jordan had left her young son with Morgan when she went to work for a shift behind the bar of a village pub. 

She said: ‘I gave Jensen a kiss, it was the last time. I said bye to them both and then I went to work.’

She said Jensen-Lee had been ‘smiling’ when she left the house in Clydach, Swansea, and had no concerns until she saw a missed call from Morgan.

When she called Morgan back, he told her that Jensen-Lee had stopped breathing and said he was ‘freaking out’.

Jordan said she repeatedly told Morgan to call an ambulance – but Morgan ignored her pleas and instead took the youngster to a neighbour’s home for help.

She said: ‘He told me Jensen wasn’t breathing and that he was freaking out, obviously I started freaking out.

‘I told him to ring an ambulance, like why was he speaking to me he should be ringing an ambulance?’

The five-month-old was taken to hospital but found to have a ‘devastating’ brain injury.

The court heard that Jensen-Lee had suffered a ‘shaking type injury’ akin to a high velocity traffic collision.

It was described as the ‘most severe case’ one doctor had seen in his whole career as a clinician or expert.

Prof Stavros Stivaros, lead consultant in paediatric neuroradiologist at the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, said: ‘It is the sort of shaking injury that, if we saw somebody doing that to someone on the other side of the road, you would cross over to intervene because of its severity.

‘It is not the sort of trauma a child can inflict on itself.’

Jordan was forced to make the heartbreaking decision to turn off Jensen-Lee’s life support machine on March 31.

She said she hugged Jensen-Lee after the machine was unplugged and he died in her arms.

Jordan told the jury that around two months after Jensen-Lee’s death, she and Morgan split up.

Morgan, of Gorseinon, Swansea, denied murder and three charges of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He was found guilty of murder and one charge of causing grievous bodily harm but cleared of two others.

Jensen-Lee’s heartbroken mother Jordan Dougal said her pain was made worse when Morgan held a gender reveal party with his new partner on the weekend of the anniversary of her son’s death

Judge Mrs Justice Stacey jailed Morgan for life with a minimum of 19 years.

She said Jensen-Lee was a ‘wonderful, beautiful baby with a sense of fun and enjoyment of life.’

She said: ‘You were still acting as the grieving step father at Jensen-Lee’s cremation.

‘All along you knew you caused those injuries to Jensen-Lee in a fit of temper.

‘Ms Dougal felt lucky that you had come into their life and trusted you with Jensen-Lee.

‘We have no way of knowing exactly what happened, as you have lied to the police and to everyone that you have spoken to since.

‘What we do know is that… You shook Jensen-Lee so violently that you caused extensive injuries.

‘The violent shaking with Jensen-Lee’s head moving back and forward quickly accelerating and decelerating may have been very brief but it was hard enough to cause his extensive internal head injuries that caused his death.’

The judge said she had put Jensen-Lee’s heroic neighbours forward for a High Sheriff’s Award for attempting to save his life.

In a statement after the sentencing, Jordan said: ‘Jensen-Lee was just five months old when his life was taken. He was completely innocent and entirely dependent on the adults around him to keep him safe.

‘Since Jensen-Lee’s death, my life has been permanently changed. I live with overwhelming grief, trauma and emotional pain.

‘Due to what Thomas Morgan did, I have also received a life sentence, but mine is one of grief.

‘Jensen-Lee will never be forgotten. I love you, Jensen-Lee.’