Ocean Elliot was shaken by her father, Benjamin Curtis, in 2007 after he momentarily lost his temper. He caused her severe brain damage. In 2009 she died from swine ‘flu, exacerbated by her neurological injuries. Mr Curtis had served 20 months for the assault of Ocean before her death, but he has now pleaded guilty to her manslaughter and has been sentenced to a further 2 years. He pleaded guilty following bipartite expert meetings pursuant to a direction under r.33.6 of the Criminal Procedure Rules 2012. These meetings are relatively uncommon in the criminal jurisdiction, but can be of great value in cases involving complex expert material, teasing out its strengths and weaknesses before trial.
