A teenage boy accused of murdering five-year-old Logan Mwangi allegedly confessed to pushing the child down a flight of stairs a year before he died, leaving him needing hospital treatment, a jury has heard.
Logan’s mother, Angharad Williamson, reported the incident to police, pleading: “This is too much for me to handle … I need help,” Cardiff crown court was told.
The teenager, who cannot be identified, is on trial for Logan’s murder alongside Williamson, 30, and Logan’s stepfather, John Cole, 40. Logan was found in the River Ogmore in south Wales on 31 July last year with more than 50 injuries to his face, head and body.
The jury heard on Wednesday that Logan plunged down a flight of stairs in August 2020, sustaining what his mother thought was a dislocated shoulder. Williamson tried to pop the shoulder back into place and put Logan to bed but had to take him to the Princess of Wales hospital in Bridgend the next morning because his arm was still floppy. Medical staff signalled their concerns and a police officer spoke to Williamson, who told them she thought Logan had fallen.
In January 2021, however, Williamson rang police to report that the teenage defendant had admitted pushing Logan downstairs, the court was told. She told a call handler: “I’ve only just found out.” She said Logan sustained a broken arm in the stair incident.
A statement from Logan’s father, Benjamin Mwangi, was read to court in which he described the moment he was told of his son’s death. He said officers came to the bookmaker’s where he worked in Essex and told him the news. “I was hysterical. I fell to the floor,” he said.
Mwangi said the day Logan was born was “the happiest time of my life”. He said he and Williamson were together for about two and a half years in total, and he stayed in contact with Logan for some time after their relationship ended. However, by the time of Logan’s death, his contact with his son had lessened after Cole had complained he was contacting Williamson too much.
A learning support officer at Logan’s primary school, Wendy John, described the boy as a “happy, caring, loving, intelligent child”.
John said she noticed a change in him when he returned to school when Covid lockdowns were lifted. “I noticed his stammer got worse and noticed he had lost weight and had dark circles around his eyes,” she said.
Williamson and the teenager deny murder and perverting the course of justice, while Cole denies murder but admits the second charge. The trial continues.
