A Darlington toddler had brain and eye bleed injuries that appeared to be “non-accidental” and consistent with an “inflicted injury”, a trial has heard.
Christopher Stockton is currently facing a trial at Teesside Crown Court accused of murdering 22-month-old Charlie Roberts in January. The 38-year-old, of Neasham Road, 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 Frosterley Drive in Darlington, is also standing trial accused of child neglect. The 41-year-old denies the charge.
On Tuesday afternoon, the jury heard evidence from consultant paediatrician, Dr Victoria Thomas, who was on duty at the Royal Victoria Infirmary on January 12 when Charlie was brought in by paramedics. She said that concerns were soon raised after being told Charlie – who was an otherwise healthy child – had “unexpectedly collapsed”.
Due to the doctor’s concerns, Charlie was then taken for a CT scan, where bleeding on his brain was found. A specialist eye doctor then examined Charlie, and found “a lot of bleeds within the surface of the eye”.
She said: “Some were quite deep, which you would expect in a child who had received non-accidental or inflicted injury…it is a strong marker for non-accidental injury.” The doctor also said that Charlie had bruising on his ear, which was “unusual” as it isn’t a place where toddlers would generally sustain injuries.
Stockton and Roberts also showed the doctor phone pictures of Charlie with bruising on his ear – which further raised concerns. She added: “[They] showed me pictures on their phones of [Charlie] having ear bruising on earlier dates. That made me concerned he had been the recipient of inflicted injury at a prior date.” The doctor said she believed it was “likely he had received the brain injury on the day of presentation”.
Whilst being cared for at the RVI, Charlie “deteriorated swiftly”. Dr Thomas said: “It was clear he was not going to survive his injuries. He died the next day.”
The trial continues.
Join our Court & Crime WhatsApp community
Join our Court and Crime WhatsApp community for all the latest court and crime news sent direct to your phone.
In this private group, you can expect the day’s top court and crime stories, including breaking news and live blogs
To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is click on the link and press ‘join community’.
No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team.
We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, affiliate content, and adverts from us and our partners.
If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose ‘exit group’.
If you’re curious, you can read our privacy notice.
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/darlington-toddler-brain-eye-bleed-30406157
