A stepfather, Christopher Stockton, who murdered his partner’s 22-month-old son, Charlie, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.
Stockton had been left alone with Charlie for only 20 minutes while the toddler’s mother, Paula Roberts, went out for an eye test on 12 January 2024.
Their trial at Teesside Crown Court today heard that Roberts was so worried about Stockton that she had set up a spy camera above her son’s cot at their home in Darlington.
Sky News reports that Roberts eventually pleaded guilty to a charge of neglect for failing to get Charlie medical treatment for bruising caused by Stockton over several weeks.
The 41-year-old woman was subsequently jailed for four years.
Sentencing, Justice James Goss said Charlie had difficulty communicating and was particularly vulnerable.
He stated that only Stockton, who then tried to claim that Charlie choked to death on a Hobnob, knew why he inflicted the fatal blow, which caused brain injuries similar to those seen in a car crash.
The judge told Stockton: “You have robbed his family of the joy of bringing up a child and of sharing life events with him.
“No court can undo the harm you have caused.”
Meanwhile, Charlie died in hospital the next day due to the severe head injury inflicted on him by Stockton.
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