Remorseless Killer Jailed for 13 Years for Homicide of 115-Day-Old Baby

A 31-year-old man who inflicted a fatal blunt force trauma on a baby and then attempted to frame the child’s mother has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Benjamin Joseph Swann pleaded guilty to child homicide in the Victorian Supreme Court, admitting he caused the injury to 115-day-old Elijah out of frustration and anger in a Werribee home on January 19, 2024.

Justice James Gorton handed down the sentence on Thursday morning, reserving some of his strongest remarks for Swann’s behaviour after the attack. When baby Elijah was found by his mother, Elyce, struggling to breathe, Swann initially told her not to call an ambulance and later denied striking or dropping the infant.

He then deflected the blame to Elyce, falsely claiming she suffered from severe post-natal depression and was capable of harming her son.

“Even as Elijah was fighting for his life, you were putting your own interests above his,” Justice Gorton said.

The judge deemed Swann’s decision to deflect blame a serious aggravating factor to the overall crime, noting Swann had shown no remorse and that his victim was a defenceless and vulnerable baby.

The court acknowledged that Elijah’s injury was non-survivable. The baby was taken off life support and died in his mother’s arms in the early hours of January 20.

Swann will be eligible for parole after serving nine years and six months.