​A dad accused of murdering his baby daughter had smoked cannabis repeatedly in the build-up to inflicting her catastrophic brain injury and ​bone fractures, a jury has heard.

Thomas Holford, on trial at Canterbury Crown Court, admitted while giving evidence on Thursday (June 19) that he lied to police when he said his last joint had been around 24 hours before five-week-old Everleigh was discovered seriously ill on the morning of April 21, 2021.

He also told jurors that his reason for trying to scrounge more weed from his dealer while looking after the newborn on his own overnight was because he believed it might make him "more patient and tolerant".

In a text sent at around 8pm the previous evening asking for cannabis, Holford had stated he had sole care of Everleigh and it was "going to be f***ing stressful".

He also agreed that he had "manipulated" the tot's maternal grandparents - with whom he lived with at the time - after telling them he used the drug for medicinal purposes.

It was as Everleigh was being treated in hospital that police found a small amount of herbal cannabis in the bedroom he shared with his girlfriend Casey Stroud and their baby daughter at the family home in Wallwood Road, Ramsgate.

The drug was on a desk next to a bottle of formula milk, a cannabis grinder and some joint remnants.

When asked about the cannabis, the then 20-year-old claimed he had last smoked the drug at around 10am on April 20.

However, giving evidence at his trial, Holford, now 24, revealed he had had as many as seven joints throughout the day and into the evening.

One had been smoked while with his daughter in St George's Park that afternoon and his last was consumed at 10pm while on a flat roof outside his bedroom window.

Although he admitted his consumption was more than usual, he told the jury it "didn't seem like a crazy amount".

On the night Everleigh's injuries were inflicted, her 16-year-old mum was staying at a friend's house.

Holford told the jury that after settling his daughter down and going to sleep himself, his next memory was being woken by Casey, who had returned home at about 9am to find their newborn seriously unwell.

The court previously heard she was "just breathing", grey in colour and with visible bruising to her jawline.

Holford said that after asking him why Everleigh was in that state - and him saying he did not know why - Casey "started shouting and went into panic mode" before her mum was alerted and an ambulance called.

He told the court he had tried to remember what had happened but it was "a sort of blank spot".

Agreeing with his barrister Jo Martin KC that he had lied to police about his cannabis consumption, he added: "I was smoking before I went to bed and throughout the day."

Then, in reference to April 20 being a significant date for cannabis users, he said his smoking that day would have been "as often as possible".

Following his initial arrest on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and child cruelty, Holford was released on bail and went into rehab for six months.

In that time, jurors heard he admitted in relation to subsequent family court proceedings that he had caused Everleigh's injuries, from which she eventually died, aged 14 months, in May 2022.

It was not until last year, however, that he was charged in relation to her death.

At the start of his trial, the court heard Holford had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and in doing so accepted he had inflicted her bleed on the brain as well as fractures to her lower leg and ribs.

But he refutes the prosecution's assertion that he subjected her to "excessive and severe" shaking with intent to either kill or cause really serious harm.

And although he also accepts causing three anal tears to the youngster, an expert in child abuse has dismissed his account that they resulted from pressure being applied while wiping her bottom.

During cross-examination by prosecutor Eloise Marshall KC, Holford, from Danbury in Essex, denied he was "pretending" to have no memory of the violent assault.

He also refuted the suggestion he had lied to police the following morning about his cannabis use because he was trying to "hide" what he had done.

"You were lying to police about smoking cannabis because you knew you had done something to Everleigh the night before and you didn't want police to know what you had been up to," argued Ms Marshall.

Holford simply replied "No", before adding: "All I can say is it's probably me trying to project an image that is better than the reality."

It was also put to him that after his daughter had been fed and placed in her moses basket, he began a gaming session on his computer, only for the newborn to start crying.

But while Holford accepted that was "entirely possible", he disagreed that he would have been annoyed by such an interruption, telling the jury it was "not the end of the world" if he had to pause his game.

"Yet you shook Everleigh violently that night," the prosecutor replied.

"Yes," answered Holford.

"So something set you off," added Ms Marshall, to which Holford said: "Yes, I believe."

When it was explained to him she was "exploring" what it was that had made him shake his daughter, he replied: "I'm not too sure but I can't really see a video game interruption causing me to react in such a way, if I'm being completely honest.

"It's not something that is life or death for me, a video game. While I can't say for definite, it doesn't feel like the sort of thing that would warrant that kind of emotion or response."

When Ms Marshall responded by asking what "life or death thing" could have caused him to assault Everleigh, Holford said: "I don't know. It's something that would be nice to know in a sense, then I know.

"But I can't tell you because I don't know myself."

He then told the court there would have to be a "secondary" event for him to get "frustrated" but again could not recall one occurring.

"And yet it did, didn't it," continued Ms Marshall.

"It must have done, yes," replied Holford.

"Something in that room, relatively simple and straightforward, made you shake Everleigh, didn't it?" she asked.

"I would imagine so, yes, because I don't think the injuries could have happened otherwise," he said.

On the issue of intent, Ms Marshall accused Holford of having "got to a place where he wanted to hurt" the baby.

She then said: "And the reason you are pretending you can't remember what happened that night is because you know what you did to Everleigh was intended to cause her really serious harm, wasn't it?"

When Holford denied this, she continued: "And if you tell us what you did and why you did it, we would be able to see that for ourselves.

"So the best option for you is to say you can't remember."

He then replied: "That would be providing I don't have a conscience."

"And you are lying to us, aren't you?" she asked. "No," maintained Holford.

"And you remember what you did to Everleigh."

"No," he answered.

"And you can't tell us because it would help us to see what you intended for her, wouldn't it?" continued the prosecutor.

"It would if I could remember," Holford said.

Cross-examination of Holford, who denies murder and assault causing actual bodily harm, continues today (Friday).