A woman used her mobile phone to film her autistic three-year-old stepson as he lay dying on the floor from a brain injury she inflicted instead of calling 999 for help, a court heard.
Leila Borrington, 23, allegedly slapped Harvey Borrington ‘multiple times’ around the head while caring for him alone in Jacksdale, near Nottingham, on August 7 last year.
She denies any wrongdoing and instead insists the youngster, who had been diagnosed as non-verbal autistic, ‘fell backwards’ off a one-seater leather sofa at home, causing a fatal brain bleed.
But jurors at the city’s crown court heard the injury was ‘inflicted’ hours before he collapsed by ‘one or more forceful strikes or slaps’ followed by ‘a substantial later impact’ causing a skull fracture.
They were shown footage, filmed by Borrington just moments after Harvey’s collapse, with the little boy seen lying on his right side, his arms out in front of him, and heard moaning.
On the video – shot on Borrington’s phone and sent to Harvey’s father who was out at that time – she can he heard saying ‘Harvey, Harv’, while he continues to moan.
She can then be seen taking the boy’s left arm, lifting it up, and letting it drop loosely to the floor, before continuing to film as he moans, and lies, unmoving on a living-room rug.
17 Nov 2022, 8:14 am
