Toddler murderer gets life
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A Supreme Court judge in Cairns has described the murder and rape of a 14-month-old toddler as "horrific and cruel" before sentencing a young man to life imprisonment.
The court heard Bradley William Walter Logan inflicted 18 fatal blows to his girlfriend's daughter Quartarnia Landers in a Cairns unit at Westcourt early last year.
The 19-year-old from Palm Island also pleaded guilty to two counts of rape.
The child's mother and other relatives attended today's court proceedings.
In sentencing, Justice Stanley Jones said Logan's actions had affected many people, including the paramedics and doctors who treated the child as well as police investigators.
He said that could not be compared with the suffering felt by Quartania Landers' family, including the pain the mother Charity Landers would experience for the rest of her life.
Justice Jones noted that Logan expressed resentment about being left to look after the toddler before murdering and raping her.
He also mentioned that Logan was emotionally disturbed and demonstrated that by a suicide attempt the previous day.
"But violence towards a baby is something society cannot tolerate," Justice Jones said.
"It's very easy to cause the death of a child."
Logan received life imprisonment for the murder charge and eight years each for the rape offences.
