This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-23059266

The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Cwmbran fire: Carl Mills 'resented attention to baby' Cwmbran fire: Carl Mills 'resented attention to baby'
(about 3 hours later)
A father accused of killing three generations of a family in a house fire resented the attention being given by his girlfriend to their blind and deaf baby, a murder trial has heard. A father accused of killing three generations of a family in a house fire resented the attention his girlfriend gave to their blind and deaf daughter, Newport Crown Court has heard.
Carl Mills, 28, denies killing Kayleigh Buckley, 17, her six-month-old daughter Kimberley and her mother Kim Buckley. Carl Mills denies murdering six-month-old Kimberley, who had only been discharged from hospital for the first time since birth hours before the fire.
Newport Crown Court heard he showed hatred to Kayleigh and her mother, 46. Mr Mills, 29, also denies murdering his girlfriend Kayleigh Buckley, 17, and her mother Kim at their Cwmbran home.
Neighbours risked their lives trying to save the family from the blaze in Cwmbran, Torfaen last September. The fire broke out on 18 September.
Prosecuting, Gregory Bull QC told the jury Mr Mills had set the fire - within hours of the baby being allowed home from hospital - with the aim of causing harm to at least one member of the family. At the opening of the trial, the jury heard how neighbours living on the Coed Eva estate had tried to save the family from the fire which had been started in the porch of the house and spread to the staircase trapping the three inside.
He had become convinced Kayleigh had another boyfriend, the jury heard. Neighbours used ladders to try and help them but were not able to reach them.
At the opening of the trial on Wednesday, the court was told Kimberley was born prematurely and was blind and deaf with underdeveloped lungs. The fire had been started just hours after baby Kimberley had been discharged from hospital after being born prematurely.
She was one of twins, the other being a girl, Angel, who was stillborn. She was one of twins but her sister Angel had been stillborn.
Kimberley was in hospital for months after her birth and Mr Mills resented the increasing attention given to her by Kayleigh, the jury was told. Kimberley was deaf and blind and had underdeveloped lungs as well as problems feeding.
Hospital staff drew up a care plan for the baby involving Kayleigh and her mother. Mr Mills, who was said to have a drink problem, could see the baby but not care for her. Prosecutor Gregory Bull QC told the jury how Mr Mills, who was living in a tent in the garden of his girlfriend's home, had become increasingly resentful of the attention she had been giving to their daughter.
The court heard that Mr Mills had sent a text in response to the care plan saying he hoped the baby died. The court heard how during Kimberley's time in hospital a care plan had been drawn up for her which involved her mother Kayleigh and grandmother Kim.
Although Mr Mills was allowed to see Kimberley, he was not allowed to care for her due to his alcohol issues and his refusal to accept professional help, the jury heard.
In response to the care plan, Mr Mills sent a text message saying he hoped the baby died.
He had also sent texts threatening to kill the family.He had also sent texts threatening to kill the family.
Kim Buckley hoped the baby going home would alter Mr Mills' behaviour but he had no intention of doing that, said the prosecution. The jury heard that despite this Kayleigh, who met Mr Mills via the internet when she was 15, was still infatuated with him and "would even spend nights in the tent with him".
He was offered professional help to tackle his drinking but he did not cooperate with it, leading to the decision to not include him in the care plan.
The baby was only released from hospital on the afternoon of 17 September but had been killed by 03:30 the next day, the court heard.
The baby was provided with oxygen tanks before she was sent home and it was explained to Mr Mills how volatile oxygen could be.
Mr Bull said: "He knew oxygen could add to the intensity of a fire."
Later, the court was told Mr Mills was allowed to stay in the house on 28 August because the baby was due to come out of hospital on 3 September initially.
But he got drunk, did not let the three dogs out and they defecated in the house.
'Magnetic control'
By the time Kayleigh and her mother came home the house was said to be wrecked and he had disappeared with the keys.
Police were called and the locks were changed.
The jury was told that Mr Mills had "magnetic control" over Kayleigh.The jury was told that Mr Mills had "magnetic control" over Kayleigh.
Mrs Buckley saw him as trouble, was concerned her daughter would end up on the streets and because she had lost a child previously, she did not want to lose another, said the prosecution. Mr Bull described Mr Mills as a controlling and jealous man.
The court heard she contacted police and school authorities about the situation but they could not help. "His abusive, controlling and irrational behaviour was demonstrated in a number of ways. He tried to drive a wedge between Kayleigh and her school friends," he told the jury.
Mr Mills seemed jealous of Kayleigh's friends, including a previous boyfriend whom he threatened to stab if he ever got in his way. Mrs Buckley, concerned about her daughter's infatuation with Mr Mills, had allowed him to continue to have contact with Kayleigh but had approached the police and school authorities for help.
Kayleigh told him Mr Mills was violent to her, the jury was told. On the afternoon of 17 September, Kimberley was discharged from hospital.
But by 03:30 the next day she had perished, along with her mother and grandmother, in a fire at their home.
The jury heard how the fire was probably started on the right-hand side of the porch which was significant because it created a sort of chimney, which would quickly set a fire in motion and spread quickly.
The fire spread to the stairs which collapsed - causing a fireball to go into the roof space and burning down into the bedrooms.
"The three victims did not have a chance, they could not get down the stairs because the fire was set deliberately by the front door where the defendant would have known the stairs were under immediate threat," said Mr Bull.
'Calculating killer'
Mr Bull told the court how in the hours after Kimberley was discharged, Mr Mills, originally from Manchester, became frustrated that text messages and calls he made to Kayleigh were ignored, the court heard.
In one of the texts he sent her, he said he hoped she would "get burnt", jurors heard.
He told the jury how Mr Mills's behaviour during fire had been noticed after he did not show any concern for the three people he knew to be in the house.
Mr Bull said how when police arrived at the scene, Mr Mills tried to tell them his girlfriend was in a different house from the one burning in front of them.
Mr Bull said: "Carl Mills was a cold calculating killer who knew exactly what he was doing. He put into action the threat he had made.
"This offence hasn't been committed because the defendant was drunk. It's been committed out of spite, jealousy and hatred," said Mr Bull.
Mr Bull told the jury that during police interviews Mr Mills had claimed not to have been in the garden or near the house earlier that evening or at the time of the fire.
But text messages sent by Mr Mills showed he had seen decorations inside the house put up in order to welcome Kimberley home, which the prosecution argued proved he had been right outside the flat.
Jurors were shown photographs of the layout of the house and the surrounding area, including the tent outside it which Mr Mills slept.
The prosecution is expected to call its first witnesses on Thursday.
The trial continues.The trial continues.