A stepfather has been found guilty of the murder of his partner’s 10-month-old son after a “vicious” assault that tore his stomach.
Jacob Crouch was found dead in his cot at his Derbyshire home on the morning of 30 December 2020 and was later discovered to have 39 rib fractures, 19 visible bruises and several internal injuries.
After four days of deliberation by a jury following a seven-week trial at Derby Crown Court, Craig Crouch, 39, was convicted of murder and three counts of child cruelty.
Craig Crouch, 39, was convicted of murder and three counts of child cruelty— (Derbyshire Police)
The boy’s mother Gemma Barton, 33, was cleared of murder, an alternative charge of manslaughter and two counts of child cruelty, but was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and a third count of child cruelty.
Jacob died from peritonitis – an infection of the lining of the abdominal organs – caused by traumatic bowel perforation.
Prosecutor Mary Prior KC said that Jacob died at his home in Foxley Chase, Linton, near Swadlincote, following a “vicious assault”, which saw him “kicked or stamped on with such severe force that it fractured a rib and caused a tear in his stomach and bowel”. It was the culmination of regular abuse within a “culture of cruelty”, which included making the baby eat his own vomit, she said.
Opening the case in June, Ms Prior said: “Neither sought medical help for Jacob at any stage for the pain and suffering caused when his bones were broken or in the few days that followed.”
“Neither got Jacob out of what must have been a life with episodes of significant pain and suffering. Jacob was not given the care that as a baby he needed and deserved.”
Jacob Crouch’s mother Gemma Barton, 33, was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and a third count of child cruelty— (Derbyshire Police)
Dr Sarah Dixon, a consultant paediatrician, told the court Jacob suffered “repeated physical abuse” in the weeks, days and hours prior to his death and that it was “not remotely” possible that the injuries could have been self-inflicted.
The injuries included a traumatic bowel perforation that led to a fatal infection, which forensic pathologist Dr Michael Biggs said could only have been sustained through blunt force trauma such as a punch, kick or stamp. He also said that he would expect to see such injuries in car crash victims or those who had suffered a multi-storey fall.
While Dr Biggs said that Jacob’s injuries would have left him “systematically unwell” in the time before his death, Crouch claimed in a 999 call that Jacob was “fine” just two hours before he was pronounced dead by paramedics.
Jacob died after sustaining injuries the doctor said were consistent with car crash victims or those who had suffered a multi-storey fall— (Derbyshire Police/PA)
Giving evidence, Crouch, a forklift driver at JCB, said that Jacob’s injuries had “nothing to do with me”, stating that he “didn’t see anything” and “didn’t see anyone do anything to hurt” his stepson. He told the court he “loves children” and that he had supported Jacob “from the start”.
Barton, 33, also denied ever harming her son, and when asked who could have inflicted the injuries she said: “It was not me so that leaves Craig.” She claimed her son was her “bundle of joy” and said it felt like her “whole world had just ended” when she was awoken by Crouch screaming that Jacob was dead.
Gemma Barton and Craig Crouch at Derby Crown Court— (Elizabeth Cook/PA)
The defendants, who had both denied murder and child cruelty offences, remained silent as the verdicts were read out, with people in the public gallery weeping.
In text messages from June 2020, Crouch told Barton that she needed to be “more regimental” with Jacob to “not let this take over us”, claiming he was “starting to get really pissed off with him” in a later text. Other messages revealed that the pair at one stage referred to Jacob as the “devil”.
In September, when Barton told Crouch she was bathing Jacob, he replied “3 foot deep, just hot water and some bleach xxxx”, a comment he later labelled in a police interview as “banter”.
After the pair were arrested on 5 January 2021, they resumed their relationship despite their bail conditions saying they should not contact each other. This, Ms Prior said, was evidence that “what mattered to them was their love affair and their love story”.
Discharging the jury, Mr Justice Kerr said: “It remains for me to thank you for your public service that you have done these last couple of months that must have been a very difficult task, and is very much appreciated.”
Speaking outside the court following the convictions, Detective Inspector Paul Bullock, of the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, said: “Jacob Crouch was born into a culture of cruelty where both of the people he should have been able to trust above any other allowed him to be subjected to assault after assault.
“Heartbreakingly, for much of Jacob’s short life, he would have been in significant pain as a result of the serious and repeated assaults. It is clear from the evidence found on Gemma Barton and Craig Crouch’s phones, through text messages, videos and audio recordings, that they were equally responsible for the culture of cruelty that was inflicted on baby Jacob.
“As a father, I can’t comprehend what happened behind closed doors and my thoughts remain with Jacob’s wider family who have been left devastated by his death. I hope that today’s verdict brings with it a degree of closure for them, and it begins the process of them being able to grieve for Jacob, and remember the happier times with a much-loved child.”
Barton, of Heanor, Derbyshire, and Crouch, of Moira, Swadlincote, will be sentenced at the same court on Friday.
