A British man accused of murdering his partner's baby asked the court why the mother would leave him alone with the child after the court learned that she put up cameras because she had concerns he was harming her son.
While 38, said he knew about the camera over nearly 2-year-old Charlie Roberts' cot, he said he did not know it was because his partner was concerned about his behavior. "Nobody at any point raised any concern," Stockton told the court, adding that he was not sure why he was still allowed to watch the boy if his mother was concerned, as reported by the BBC.
Less than 20 minutes after being left alone with the toddler on Jan. 12, Stockton called emergency services claiming the boy was choking. Doctors later determined that the child had died from a brain injury.
"I can't explain that," Stockton told the court, as reported by the BBC. "He didn't bang his head while he was with me." He said that the toddler had been playing in a plastic tunnel when the incident happened.
Paula Roberts, the boy's mother, claimed that she installed a camera after she had concerns about the way Stockton would put her son to sleep, causing her to worry that he may be abusing the toddler.
Roberts, 41, initially denied charges of neglect, however she later admitted denying her son medical assistance when he got injured in December 2023 and January of this year, as reported by The Sun.
Social services previously looked into the boy after nurses were concerned by bruises on his ear and head, but the boy's mother had claimed that they happened while he was sleep-walking.
Stockton had reportedly been running on three hours of sleep and was battling pneumonia at the time of the child's death. He denied suggestions by officers that he may have been "irritable" when the boy died, as reported by the BBC.
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