Ayeeshia Jane Smith: Grandma will 'never forgive' girl's killer
The grandmother of a toddler stamped to death by her own mother has said she can never forgive her murderer.
Ayeeshia Jane Smith suffered fatal injuries at the hands of Kathryn Smith.
Tracey Bodell said she did not know what her granddaughter had been through until she heard the evidence in court.
Smith was jailed for at least 24 years. Her then partner, Matthew Rigby, 22, was jailed for three years and six months after being found guilty of causing or allowing Ayeeshia's death.
Ayeeshia collapsed in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, after suffering injuries normally associated with a car crash, Birmingham Crown Court heard.
It was the latest in a string of injuries leading up to her death in May 2014.
Ms Bodell, from Swadlincote, Derbyshire, said the 21-month-old girl was "a delight".
"She was such a happy child. You wouldn't have thought she was going through anything," she said.
"[After] we had given evidence, we sat in court and listened in detail to AJ's injuries. Up until that moment we weren't any the wiser.
"We had to grieve twice. We tried to grieve when she died and then go to court and listen to all what was going on - what had happened to this little girl who meant so much to us."
Ayeeshia was known to social workers and was placed with a foster family at about the time of her first birthday.
She thrived but returned to live with her mother in October 2013.
Ms Bodell said: "I will never forgive her. I never speak ill of anybody but that is one girl I will never ever forgive for what she has taken from us."
She said her son Ricky Booth had "good and bad days" since the death of his daughter.
"We've all supported him as best we can but... hopefully in time Ricky will find a little bit of peace in his heart."