A mother serving life behind bars for the brutal killing of her toddler daughter during a "violent outburst of temper" has had her minimum jail term cut by top judges.
Kathryn Smith was found guilty of murder and child cruelty in April last year after 21-month-old tot Ayeeshia Jane Smith was beaten and stamped to death at her home in Britannia Drive, Stretton.
She had hoped to get her murder conviction overturned, but this was thrown put by judges sitting in London's Court of Appeal.
The toddler's heart had torn due to the huge force of the fatal blow - a type of injury so severe it is usually only found in car crash victims. Ayeeshia also suffered other injuries, including a bleed on the brain, in the months before her death in May 2014, the original court hearing was told.
Smith, 24, previously of Overseal, had been ordered to serve at least 24 years behind bars at Birmingham Crown Court in April last year.
But her 'tariff' has now been reduced to 19 years by judges sitting at the Court of Appeal.
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Thomas, said the original term was too long, in light of Smith's youth and "immaturity".
Sitting with Mr Justice Goss and Sir Wyn Williams, he said: "The minimum term imposed by the judge did not properly reflect the circumstances of the murder, the previous conduct, the other offences of which she was convicted or the mitigating factors.
"In our judgment, the minimum term which properly reflected all the factors should have been one of 19 years."
But the judges refused Smith's bid to overturn her murder conviction.
Her barrister, John Butterfield QC, had argued at appeal court hearings in November last year and earlier this month that the conviction was "unsafe".
He said an interruption by the trial judge as he made his closing speech caused "prejudice" in the minds of jurors, as did the judge's summing up of the case.
Mr Butterfield also put forward "fresh medical evidence", which came to light during a serious case review of Ayeeshia's death, including discrepancies in Ayeeshia's weight and the fact she suffered a blister to her finger when she wasn't with her mother.
But, dismissing the appeal, Lord Thomas said that none of the matters raised cast any doubt on the safety of the conviction.
He added: "We are satisfied that, looked at overall, the summing up was both thorough and fair.
"Of fundamental significance was the inability of Smith to provide any significant explanation for the child's injuries from October 2013 onwards and her repeated changes of account as to the events leading up to her collapse.
"There was ample evidence on which the jury could have reached the verdicts they did.
"We conclude that although this is a case in which we should grant leave to appeal on both grounds the convictions were, in our view, safe."
Smith's boyfriend at the time, Matthew Rigby, was was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of Ayeeshia.
