A postman who battered his girlfriend's toddler to death by grabbing him and throwing him to the floor after months of sickening abuse has today been jailed for nine years.
Scott Coombe, 24, abused 18-month-old Andrew Cawker for months while the boy's mum Tamika Beaton, 25, turned a blind eye to the injuries he was causing to her son.
But the mum, who denied but was convicted of child cruelty, was today spared jail by a judge, despite refusing to explain what had happened.
Andrew suffered a head injury on July 9, 2019, and died in King's College Hospital, London, 13 days later.
Coombe, of Kent, left the boy with bruises and scars all over his body and tried to blame Andrew for being "irritating" and his biological father.
The court heard how Beaton also did nothing while knowing about the "unexplained injuries" her son received.
Andrew's father took him to the doctor to get tested thinking he was prone to bruising, but he wasn't, the court heard.
In January last year, Coombe admitted to killing Andrew by grabbing him and throwing him to the floor.
Coombe was jailed today for manslaughter and child cruelty.
Beaton denied child cruelty between January 7 and July 9, 2019. She was found guilty and was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for 18 months.
Beaton had refused to explain in court what had happened.
The jury was told how Beaton had cheated on both Andrew's biological father and her boyfriend Coombe, with various men.
The Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft said: "It would seem he [Coombe] tried to blame the biological father as well as the child himself for their injuries.
"There can be nothing worse for a natural father to be blamed for causing injuries to your own child."
The judge told Coombe: "Until your plea of guilty you had sought to put the blame on others, including Andrew and his father.
"It appears to me that putting blame on others is the main aggravating feature of this case."
Paul Mendelle representing Coombe, told the court how he struggled to cope with childcare for Andrew who was a "boisterous child with high levels of energy and highly demanding".
Mr Mendelle said: "He very much cared for Andrew and looked after him.
"There is not a parent in the land who hasn't experienced moments of anger.
"He is a deeply religious young man and he even talks of Andrew still being alive, but not in this world."
Coombe called the emergency services on July 9 and told the operator: "It's my one-and-a-half-year-old stepson.
"He was just playing then he started looking a bit stiff and then he collapsed in front of me and he's not woken up for 10 to 15 minutes."
Sally O'Neill, prosecuting, said: "This was a lie. Scott Coombe has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
"He has done so on the basis that he became irritated with him and picked him up by grabbing his upper arms and in a moment of anger and frustration, shook him vigorously backwards and forwards briefly and then threw him backwards.
"Andrew's shoulder area hit the floor and his head fell back and bounced as it hit the floor.
"Andrew immediately became unconscious and Scott Coombe tried to revive him, was unable to do so, which was when he called 999."
Coombe had also admitted child cruelty in relation to assaulting Andrew on a series of occasions between January 7 and July 9, 2019.
The prosecutor said: "It was apparent to Tamika Beaton that Andrew was receiving unexplained injuries whilst in Scott Coombe's care.
"She and Andrew's father, Ben Cawker, who saw him regularly, took photos of the injuries and even on one occasion, took him to the doctors for his blood to be tested in case he was prone to easy bruising.
"He wasn't. His bruises were as a result of being assaulted by Scott Coombe and it must have been obvious to Tamika Beaton that it was Scott Coombe who was doing it.
"Not only did she do nothing to protect Andrew from being injured by Scott Coombe, she tried to cover up the injuries by blaming Ben Cawker, his father, for causing them.
"There are many texts in this case which the Crown say illustrate her knowledge of what was going on and her deliberate refusal to tell Social Services about it because she knew that if she did, the result would be that either Scott Coombe would have to leave the home or Andrew would be taken into care.
"She was putting her own interests before those of Andrew with the most catastrophic consequences for Andrew."
Beaton met Andrew's father, Ben Cawker, in 2014 when she was 16.
She had left school and was studying sports at Balham College.
By 2016, the couple were trying for a baby.
Beaton fell pregnant the next year and Mr Cawker was said to have been "delighted" with the news.
When Andrew was four months old, Beaton moved into a studio flat in Peckham, South London.
Mr Cawker continued to visit her but the relationship was "beginning to go wrong".
In May 2018, Beaton met Coombe at a fitness class.
Mr Cawker admitted he and Beaton did not contact social services before Andrew's death.
Speaking of Andrew's death he added: "In my head, to that day I thought things were better, and out of the blue my son passed, so it was a huge shock to me."
Detective Sergeant Quinn Cutler, a homicide detective, led the investigation and said: “This is an utterly heart-breaking case where a defenceless child has sustained prolonged abuse at the hands of those who should have been caring for him, resulting in his death.
“Andrew should have been in the place where he felt safe; at home with his mother and her partner. However, over the course of a year, Andrew suffered regular assaults at the hands of Scott Coombe culminating in the attack on 9 July 2019 which proved to be fatal.
“His mother, Tamika Beaton, clearly suspected Coombe was responsible for these injuries but chose not to intervene or seek help. Indeed, when questioned by police she sought to place the blame on another man.
"While Beaton did not directly inflict injuries on her son, her inaction most certainly played a part in his death.”
