A Darlington toddler suffered extensive bruising to his left ear which could not have been caused by a claimed fall while sleepwalking, a doctor has told a murder trial jury. Giving evidence the doctor also told the jury how the youngster had sustained an “excruciatingly painful” injury to his genitals weeks before his death.
Christopher Stockton is facing a trial at Teesside Crown Court accused of murdering 22-month-old Charlie Roberts in January. The 38-year-old, of Darlington, is also accused of child cruelty, said to be committed between May 1 last year and January 14 this year. He denies both charges.
The mother of Charlie, Paula Roberts, of Darlington, is also standing trial accused of child neglect. The 41-year-old denies the charge.
On Tuesday, the jury heard evidence from Dr Deborah Stalker, an expert paediatrician and specialist in child protection, who spoke about some of the injuries that Charlie had. The trial previously heard about extensive bruising to the toddler’s left ear and that Roberts claimed Charlie would “sleep-walk” and that the injury could have occurred from a fall.
But Dr Stalker told the jury this was “not plausible”. She said: “It would not be a plausible explanation. [An injury] from sleep-walking would be a fall from a standing height. It would not cause an injury to his ear.
“In my opinion, it’s a non-accidental injury, perhaps an inflicted injury. [Something like] a very hard slap would give this injury to the ear.” She added: “Simple falls do not cause ear injuries. There has to be direct force applied to the ear. That doesn’t happen just by a domestic tumble.”
The jury was also told of – and shown images of – an injury that Charlie had sustained to his penis in December 2023, which Dr Stalker described as a “nasty laceration”. Nicholas Lumley KC, prosecuting, asked: “What does it take to cause such an injury?”
Dr Stalker replied: “There are two possible causes. One less likely is that there is a sharp instrument applied to the penis. Another, more likely, is a tractional or pulling injury. If you pull very violently it can tear at the base of the penis. I’ve seen this many times in children who have been physically abused.
“It will require a lot of force to do that. It causes a partial de-gloving and would be excruciatingly painful.”
The trial was told that Roberts claimed the penis injury was due to a “condition” Charlie had. However, Dr Stalker said Charlie did not have the condition.
Putting questions to the witness regarding the ear bruising, defence barrister Paul Rooney said that a doctor who examined Charlie in hospital did not see any bruising. Dr Stalker said: “The bruising may have changed with time. The pictures were taken after the examination and possibly [the doctor] didn’t notice it. But [the bruising] was very obvious on the digital images.”
Mr Rooney asked: “During your evidence, you said doctors can make mistakes. Is that you?
Dr Stalker agreed that she can make mistakes, adding: “My evidence is often peer reviewed, so is often checked by other people to make sure I’m making the right decision.”
The trial continues.
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View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/darlington-toddler-could-not-suffered-30454850
