A cannabis-addicted father posted a string of sickening tributes following the murder of his eight-week-old son — including a new neck tattoo featuring the toddler’s name.
Oliver Mailey, 26, of Burnley, Lancashire, was subsequently arrested by police he shook Abel-Jax to death on November 27, 2021but was released under investigation.
The messages appeared after Mailey was sentenced to life with a minimum of 16 years after being found guilty of murder at Preston Crown Court.
He attempted to portray himself as a devastated father by posting a series of photos and messages calling his victim “Spud” and saying how much he loved and missed him.
Oliver Mailey (pictured), 26, of Burnley, Lancashire, was arrested by police after shaking Abel-Jax to death on 27 November 2021, but was released after an investigation
The reports emerged after Mailey was sentenced to life with a minimum of 16 years after being found guilty of murder at Preston Crown Court
He attempted to portray himself as a devastated father by posting a series of photos and messages calling his victim “Spud” and saying how much he loved and missed him.
A post on Facebook showed Mailey hugging Abel-Jax in his arms and saying, “Words can’t explain how much I need you and miss you, Daddy loves you and will never stop doing it.”
Another showed him with a tattoo on his neck, which he had done after the murder as a tribute to Abel-Jax.
It featured the baby’s name inked alongside a pair of angel wings and a baby handprint.
When the child’s unsuspecting mother, Mollie Gorton, hosted a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for Abel-Jax’s funeral, Mailey posted, “Can everyone please help me put down my little spud to get a little to donate.
“We’re struggling to let him rest and give him the best goodbye he needs.”
In response, Leanne Guest posted, “Did you kill him? And you’re sick enough to post pictures like your father of the damn year.”
Paige Chadwick added, “You’re kidding me. How sick and crazy can a person be!!!!!! You took people’s money to fund the funeral of the poor boy you killed. Horribly lowest of the low. I hope to God you get all you deserve.’
Tom Horne said: ‘He kills his kid and then gets a tattoo with his name, that’s sickening. That poor baby – I hope your time in jail is absolutely awful.”
The court was told that Mailey had previously shaken little Abel-Jax, leaving him with seven broken ribs and a brain hemorrhage.
At the time, the baby was not taken to hospital and was heard to make a ‘shuddering and hurtful’ cry as Mailey and Mollie picked him up and hugged him.
When the child’s unsuspecting mother, Mollie Gorton, hosted a GoFundMe appeal to raise money for Abekl Jax’s funeral, Mailey posted, “Can everyone please help me put down my little spud to get a little to donate’
Pictured: Mailey celebrates the gender reveal for Abel-Jax in the weeks before the toddler was born
On the day of the murder itself – about ten days later – Mollie had gone to work at Burnley F.C.’s Turf Moor stadium, leaving Abel-Jax with his father.
Within 45 minutes of her leaving, Mailey called to tell her something was wrong with their son.
In a video call between the pair, Mollie could see Abel-Jax on Mailey’s knee, his body limp and lifeless.
Mailey told Mollie he was changing him and he was feeling limp so he went to feed him but then his arms went limp and he felt ‘strange’.
Abel-Jax was rushed to Royal Blackburn Hospital before being transferred to Manchester Children’s Hospital for further treatment, where he died two days later.
Doctors concluded that he died of brain damage after being shaken with the “force of a car crash.”
Mailey was arrested on the evening of November 28 before being charged with murder the following July.
He initially denied wrongdoing and pointed Mollie suspicious.
At his trial, he eventually confessed to shaking his son in a “moment of madness,” as Abel-Jax wouldn’t stop crying.
Mollie, 26, was initially charged with the murder of Abel-Jax but was cleared of any wrongdoing.
In a statement, she said: “I had to plan my baby’s funeral and I didn’t know where to start or how to do it.
“My house haunts me because it is filled with so many memories. I live in my bedroom upstairs because I don’t like being downstairs. I don’t like to be alone because when I’m alone I think about it. I don’t trust people and don’t think I will trust a man again.
The court was told that Mailey had previously shaken little Abel-Jax, leaving him with seven broken ribs and a brain hemorrhage
A post on Facebook showed Mailey hugging Abel-Jax in his arms
Another showed him with a tattoo on his neck, which he made after the murder, in tribute to Abel-Jax.
“I feel like I’m stuck and not getting to my destination. I’m still numb and can’t process it. It would help if I could talk to someone, but I was told not to. All I’m focused on now is trying to rebuild my life.”
At Mailey’s sentencing, the judge, Mr Justice Barry Cotter, told him: ‘You knew you had seriously injured a seven-and-a-half week old baby, he was limp, not breathing well or at all and reacting no, but you did anyway. don’t take the immediate and obvious step until two people have told you to.
“You had already decided to lie, you lied to the paramedics and stayed in the hospital. Mollie accused you of hurting Abel, but you denied hurting him and seemed to imply that her son hurt him.
Ultimately, the medical evidence showed a general pattern of injuries to the brain, eyes and nervous system consistent with deliberate and forceful shaking on the morning of November 28, 2021.
The injuries caused by the trembling, lack of oxygen, bleeding and swelling led to Abel-Jax’s collapse and subsequent death.
‘The triad of brain swelling, cerebral hemorrhage and eye injury was consistent with non-accidental head injury.
‘Abel wasn’t a particularly difficult child – he had a good regimen and was a good sleeper, there’s nothing about his behavior that could put you anywhere near what’s been described as the end of your tether.
“The reason he cried so much in the days before he died was because you broke his ribs. You’ve woken up a few times during the night, but this is part of having a baby. The shaking on both occasions was obviously very violent and you then lied to save your own skin.”
Speaking after the case, Katie Marsden, CPS North West’s senior attorney general, said: ‘This is truly a tragic case. More than once in his very short life, Abel-Jax was subjected to terrible injuries at the hands of his father; one of the people who should have protected him.’
Det Ch Insp Jane Webb, of Lancashire Police’s Force Major Investigation Team, said: ‘Abel-Jax’s death is utterly tragic and heartbreaking. It has left his family devastated and no words can describe the unimaginable pain they have endured and are still suffering.
“As the father of Abel-Jax, Oliver Mailey was in a position of trust, there to provide love, support and care. On that day, Mailey abused that trust in the most violent and horrific way. He staged a shocking attack, which tragically led to the death of Abel-Jax.
“When questioned by police, he repeatedly denied knowing anything about how Abel-Jax got his injuries. Only in recent months did he admit to shaking Abel-Jax and plead guilty to manslaughter, claiming he had no intent to kill or seriously harm.
“Mailey is a coward and his actions alone led to his son’s death. We welcome the court ruling and would like to thank the jury for their careful consideration and giving Abel-Jax a vote.”