https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10779049/Foster-mother-accused-murdering-one-year-old-boy-hoped-adopt-confessed-hitting-him.html?fbclid=IwAR2xX2sn53R0NcrxQ1cnHGjOV8lZ2Qh0pwG9Qua8GTiv1Y-bsobo0RtST0wFoster mother accused of murdering one-year-old boy she hoped to adopt confessed to hitting him while being quizzed by social worker as he lay dying on life support, court hears
Laura Castle is accused of murdering one-year-old Leiland-James Corkill
He suffered head injuries at her house in Barrow-in-Furness in January last year
She claimed Leiland-James had fallen from a sofa but medics raised concerns
When questioned, she said she had previously 'tapped or slapped' the youngster
Laura Castle has pleaded not guilty to Leiland-James' murder and child cruelty
Her husband Scott Castle denies causing or allowing the death and child cruelty
By Stephen Wynn-davies For Mailonline
Published: 16:55, 3 May 2022 | Updated: 17:10, 3 May 2022
A foster mother accused of murdering a one-year-old boy she hoped to adopt confessed to hitting him when she was quizzed by a social worker while he lay dying on life support, a court has heard. Laura Castle, 38, made the confession while one-year-old Leiland-James Corkill was in hospital having suffered catastrophic head injuries, Preston Crown Court heard. The youngster had been living with his prospective adoptive parents Laura Castle and her husband, Scott, 35 when emergency services were called to their home in Barrow-in-Furness on January 6 last year. Laura Castle claimed Leiland-James had fallen from a sofa while she was in the kitchen but medics at Liverpool's Alder Hey Children's Hospital raised concerns the injuries did not match her account. When questioned about her story, she told a social worker that she had 'previously tapped or slapped Leiland-James', the court heard today. Laura Castle has since pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Leiland-James, who lived with her for less than five months, but she denies murder and child cruelty. Scott Castle has pleaded not guilty to causing or allowing the death of Leiland-James and also to child cruelty. Jurors were told the couple had undergone a rigorous application from Cumbria County Council before being allowed to look after Leiland-James, who was taken into care at birth. The process included 'therapeutic parenting sessions' in which prospective adopters were taught how to be more nurturing and to never use corporal punishment. On Tuesday, Penny Hindle, a social worker of 35 years' experience, said she phoned Laura Castle before the baby's life-support was switched off on January 7. She said: 'I said to Laura that I had been advised that Leiland-James's injuries were not consistent with her account. She was very upset. She said she had previously tapped or slapped Leiland-James. I was really shocked that given the emphasis on not hurting, assaulting, smacking, disciplining children in a physical way, that she was saying that was what she had been doing. Leiland-James was only a baby. He had just had his first birthday. I was really shocked that she had used force.'
Last week, the court heard a colleague of Mrs Hindle had voiced her concerns after Laura Castle said she did not love Leiland-James during a home visit in November 2020. Laura Castle went on to tell Mrs Hindle that she felt the youngster did not like them. A 'looked after child' review followed in which Mrs Hindle said she could not support a permanent adoption application from the Castles. The social worker said the Castles accepted the decision and more therapeutic work took place at their home on December 16. She said: 'It was not totally negative. Scott Castle and Laura Castle both engaged well. Leiland-James was there. But they did have a lack of joy in everything that he seemed to do. Some of their responses were negative and they were struggling to bond with him but they weren't asking to remove him because they couldn't go on.'
Laura Castle said her family loved the boy so he was 'not going anywhere', she told the court. Mrs Hindle went on: 'My reaction was that, in itself, is not a good enough reason to adopt a child. I was not convinced the adoption would hold.'
A further meeting was scheduled to take place 'very early in the New Year' to discuss Leiland-James's placement, Mrs Hindle said, but on January 6 she was made aware of the incident at the Castles' home. The mobile phones of the defendants were examined by police following their arrest as text messages revealed Laura Castle telling her husband of 'leathering' Leiland-James on a number of occasions. The couple also referred to the boy in derogatory terms such as 'a proper n** head', 'a d***', and 'a fat s***', the court heard. Giving evidence, Laura Castle's mother, Julie Houghton, said she had no concerns about her daughter coping with Leiland-James. She said: 'We welcomed him into our family. He was part of our family.'
Michael Brady QC, prosecuting, asked: 'Did she tell you that she loved Leiland-James?'
Mrs Houghton said: 'She said she had not bonded with him as much as she thought she would have.'
She said both were fine when she visited her home on January 5 and that Leiland-James appeared 'more settled'. The trial continues on Wednesday.
