A British man who admitted to murdering his former girlfriend but denied killing her daughter has been found guilty of the child’s death.
A judge ruled on Monday that Robert Leeming was responsible for taking 22-month-old Aliyah Sanderson’s life.
Previously he admitted to killing her mother Jasmine Lovett in Calgary, Canada, in 2019.
Court of Queen’s Justice Keith Yamauchi ruled the Brit murdered the toddler saying the HGV mechanic was not a believable witness.
The judge said there is no doubt he caused the injuries which led to the girl’s death.
Leeming, from Marlborough, Wiltshire, testified he was looking after Aliyah when she fell down some stairs.
He said he checked on her later and found her limp and unresponsive. He claimed he did not kill her however.
Leeming, 36, said he lost his temper when Lovett, who had been his girlfriend but was at that time living in his house as a tenant, accused him of doing something to her child.
He admitted to striking Lovett, who was 25, a number of times with a hammer before coming back with a rifle and shooting her in the head.
Lovett and her daughter were reported missing on April 23, 2019, and found two weeks later.
Their bodies were found buried in a shallow grave west of Calgary.
Leeming will be sentenced at a later date and faces life in prison.
