Father on trial accused of murdering young son

A antheral has gone connected proceedings accused of murdering his three-year-old son.

Craig Rowland from Millington Park successful Portadown, County Armagh, is charged with the execution of Lewis Oliver Rowland, who died connected 20 October 2018.

The 29-year-old accused is further charged with the manslaughter of the babe connected the aforesaid date.

A assemblage astatine Belfast Crown Court heard Mr Rowland antecedently pleaded blameworthy to a complaint of wilfully neglecting the child.

The tribunal was told Lewis's parent Laura Graham besides pleaded blameworthy to the aforesaid charge.

Delivering his opening statement, a prosecution lawyer said Lewis was 13 weeks aged erstwhile helium was admitted to Craigavon country infirmary with "serious caput injuries" successful November 2015.

The barrister told the assemblage the prosecution was satisfied the child's injuries were "non-accidental".

The tribunal heard that the three-year-old died 3 years later, successful October 2018, aft complications arising from surgery.

The lawyer said the superior injuries suffered by the kid successful 2015 were a "significant origin of his death".

He told the assemblage a pathologist would springiness grounds that the infant's caput wounded played a important relation successful the pneumonia helium contracted which resulted successful his death.

The tribunal heard Lewis was archetypal brought to Craigavon Area Hospital connected 20 November 2015 by some his parents.

Mr Rowland told a caregiver the babe had "taken a seizure" the erstwhile period and that the child's GP was not concerned.

The caregiver noted bruising connected the child's look and asked whether Lewis had been "dropped oregon banged".

Mr Rowland told the caregiver that helium had held his lad upside down aft helium had taken different seizure.

The assemblage was aboriginal told that the accused denied ever doing so.

The tribunal heard the babe was taken into a resuscitation country aft a caregiver noted helium was "not alert" and successful a information she had ne'er seen before.

The barrister said different caregiver described the three-year-old arsenic "unresponsive" and "blue and lifeless, similar a floppy doll".

The assemblage was told that Lewis's parents told a advisor paediatrician their kid had been unwell the nighttime earlier helium was brought to hospital.

The barrister said they described however their son's limbs were shaking and stiffening during an occurrence that lasted 30 minutes.

The tribunal aboriginal heard however a CT scan, requested by a doc who had taken implicit the child's treatment, displayed a "marked abnormality" to his brain.

The prosecution barrister said aggregate examinations revealed not conscionable bruising but a "significant and catastrophic encephalon injury" which showed "irreversible encephalon damage".

He added that an MRI scan showed areas of extended encephalon harm arsenic good arsenic a spinal injury.

The lawyer added that the 3 period aged had besides sustained a rib fracture arsenic good arsenic a "bilateral retinal haemorrhage".

He said the child's doc said the "cluster of injuries" could not beryllium explained by mean handling.

The tribunal aboriginal heard astir the play earlier the child's decease successful October 2018.

The prosecution lawyer said erstwhile infirmary unit became alert connected the greeting of the 20 October that Lewis was going to dice they made steps to alert his parents done the police.

The tribunal was told that erstwhile officers arrived astatine his parents' home, Mr Rowland refused to question to the infirmary with constabulary and cursed astatine them.

The barrister told the assemblage Mr Rowland had fixed antithetic accounts successful constabulary interviews astir the time earlier his lad was archetypal to brought to infirmary and whether helium had spent immoderate periods unsocial looking aft him.

The assemblage was besides told of the observations made by a advisor radiologist, pursuing a MRI scan, taken 3 days aft the kid was admitted to hospital.

The tribunal heard helium recovered images accordant with trauma with nary accidental explanation, which were apt caused by shaking.

"Ultimately erstwhile you basal backmost and presumption the grounds successful it's entirety, we accidental that you volition beryllium satisfied beyond tenable uncertainty that Craig Rowland is liable for the injuries sustained by Lewis," the lawyer told the jury.

The proceedings continues.