A mother accused of killing her child shouted at his stepfather to “tell the truth” while being questioned in court over her role in his death.
Under cross-examination on Thursday, Angharad Williamson, 31, insisted she had “nothing to do” with the death of her son Logan Mwangi, calling his murder and the dumping of his body “disgusting”.
Logan was found in the River Ogmore in Pandy Park, Bridgend, on the morning of July 31 2021 after suffering internal injuries likened to those seen in victims of high-speed car crashes but said to be consistent with child abuse.
Williamson is standing trial for murdering Logan, also known as Logan Williamson, and perverting the course of justice, along with her partner at the time, John ‘Jay’ Cole, 40, and a 14-year-old boy who cannot legally be identified.
In a dramatic scene at Cardiff Crown Court, Williamson cut across prosecutor Caroline Rees QC to shout at Cole: “Just tell the truth, Jay.”
Ms Rees had been questioning Williamson about whether she was awake around the time Cole and the youth were seen on CCTV carrying Logan’s lifeless body out of the flat where they lived in Lower Llansantffraid, Sarn, and down to the river.
Footage taken from neighbours’ doorbell cameras show the lights in Logan’s bedroom being switched on and off while Cole and the youth are out.
The prosecution say this proves Williamson was awake and aware that Logan had been killed and was being dumped in the river.
Ms Rees said: “You know how Logan died because you were awake and there.
“You’re lying to cover up your involvement and your participation in Logan’s death.”
Williamson shouted again: “I beg of you, Jay, just tell the truth.”
She was repeatedly asked about the inconsistencies in her accounts to police and why she did not mention that Cole and the youth had assaulted Logan on the Thursday before he was found during her first four taped interviews.
She admitted repeatedly giving detectives false accounts of what happened in the days running up to Logan’s death but said she is now telling the truth, insisting she has “nothing to lose anymore”.
“I have nothing left in my life. The only thing I can do now is get justice for Logan,” she said.
Ms Rees said: “Can I suggest you do have something to gain? You’re trying to avoid being found guilty of murdering your child.”
Williamson said: “I never murdered my child. I didn’t hurt my child. I loved my child.”
Crying throughout her time in the witness box, Williamson was questioned extensively about why she did not call for help after seeing Cole and the youth attack Logan.
A video was again played to the jury of Williamson running out of the flat just before 3pm that day and being pursued by the youth before eventually going back inside.
Williamson claims she fled the home after witnessing the assault in an attempt to get help, but Cole has claimed it was just in reaction to a row the pair had.
Ms Rees said: “If you loved Logan, why didn’t you call the police?”
Williamson said: “I ran outside and I thought I made enough of a commotion for someone to help us but nobody did.”
Ms Rees said a couple driving past had slowed down out of concern at seeing Williamson in distress.
“You didn’t shout about your five-year-old child being assaulted. Did you say, ‘My five-year-old child has just been attacked by an adult man’?” Ms Rees asked.
Williamson said: “No, I didn’t.”
Ms Rees asked: “And you didn’t tell anyone until after the fourth interview with police that you had witnessed the assault by John Cole on Logan.”
Ms Rees suggested to Williamson that she had opportunities to get help for Logan throughout the rest of Thursday and the next day, including when she visited a local corner shop on her own to buy tobacco and energy drinks.
Williamson said she feared Cole because he said he had been in the SAS.
Ms Rees said: “Let’s have a look at some of Logan’s difficulties. He would wet himself frequently, to the extent his genitals became sore. He pinched himself and was biting himself to the lip until it bled. Logan was a very unhappy little boy by July 2021, wasn’t he?”
She continued: “He was a child wetting himself and self-harming. Then he got Covid.
“And you stuck him on his own in a room behind a barred gate for 10 days and made him face the wall whenever you came into the room.”
Williamson said: “It wasn’t like that. He had £500 worth of toys in there. He had a laptop.”
Ms Rees said: “£500 worth of toys and a laptop are no substitute for the love and affection from his mother.”
The prosecutor said Williamson had called Logan’s room a “dungeon” during her evidence on Wednesday.
Williamson said they had kept the curtains drawn to prevent Logan’s room from becoming too hot and that she would try to open the window for him but claimed Cole would close it because he said the breeze would spread coronavirus around the flat.
She said she felt like a “shit mother”, adding: “I don’t even feel like a mother anymore.”
Williamson’s evidence ended and John Hipkin QC said he would be calling no evidence for the youth.
Judge Mrs Justice Jefford told the jury to return on Monday when they will be given legal directions in the case.
The trial, which continues, is now expected to overrun past Easter.
