The mother of a five-year-old boy who was found dead in a river in South Wales sobbed as the moment his body was discovered by police officers was described to a court.
Angharad Williamson, 30, her partner John Cole, 40, and a 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, are on trial for murdering Logan Mwangi between July 28 and August 1 at Cardiff Crown Court.
Logan was found still wearing his mis-matched pyjamas in the River Ogmore, at Sarn, Bridgend, having suffered 56 injuries to his head, face, torso, arms and legs.
His mum, Williamson; and step-dad Cole; as well as the youth, are also accused of conducting a cover-up after his death which included dumping his body in the river like “fly-tipped rubbish”.
The court heard on Tuesday how two South Wales Police officers discovered Logan’s body in the river while searching Pandy Park at 5.55am on July 31.
Having spotted Logan’s body through an opening in a hedge, Pc Lauren Keen ran down a muddy path to reach boulders at the bank of the river.
Prosecuting, Caroline Rees QC said: “She saw there the body of a young child lying on his right side with his knees bent in an open foetal position. It was Logan.
“She climbed into the river and walked down to where he was and picked Logan up in her arms.
“She noted he had a head injury.
“His body was cold and stiff, his lips were blue and his eyes were wide open. There was no sign of life.”
The court heard the officers performed CPR on the young child before he was taken to the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend, where he was pronounced dead at 7.15am.
This finding suggests infliction of injury on different occasions over a more prolonged period of time than the days immediately before Logan's body was discovered
As the scene of his discovery was described to the court, Williamson began to cry loudly, with the judge, Her Honour Mrs Justice Jefford, asking for a mic in the dock to be muted so the hearing could continue.
Ms Rees then said that when taken to see her son’s body in hospital, Williamson allegedly commented to one nurse “that she wished she’d taught him to swim”, Ms Rees said.
She later asked another nurse why Logan was wet and was told it was because his body had been found in the river.
Williamson claimed it was the first time she had been made aware of this, the court heard.
Ms Rees said this was considered an odd comment, given her earlier statement about not teaching Logan to swim.
A juror became upset as a summary of the medical evidence was read to the court.
Prosecutor Caroline Rees QC told the hearing that medical experts had found Logan suffered catastrophic injuries to his abdomen, including lacerations to his liver and a tear to his bowel, as well as traumatic brain injuries.
Pathologist Dr John Williams also discovered what was described as a “healing fracture” to Logan’s clavicle which was several weeks old.
“This finding suggests infliction of injury on different occasions over a more prolonged period of time than the days immediately before Logan’s body was discovered,” Ms Rees said.
Paediatrician, Dr Deborah Stalker, concluded the injuries were the result of purposeful blunt force trauma and a “forceful assault”.
On Monday, the jury had been told the injuries were so severe they were similar to that caused by a high-velocity, road traffic accident.
Logan is believed to have survived for several hours after the injuries were inflicted before his death, Ms Rees told the jury, meaning there was an opportunity to save him.
Ms Rees said the evidence was “capable of proving that Logan was subjected to a serious and sustained assault within the home over a period of time and possibly on more than one occasion”.
“The prosecution say that it is incredible to consider that any person within that house – so that would include all of the defendants in this case – could have been unaware that the assault was going on or that Logan had been seriously injured and was at high risk of death.”
The court heard the three defendants allegedly made comments about the case after their arrests on August 1.
Cole is said to have told a prison guard that he had a “moral dilemma”, while Williamson wrote a letter claiming that Cole had killed Logan, it was alleged.
The youth is alleged to have been observed singing, “I love kids, I f***ing love kids, I love to punch kids in the head, it’s orgasmic”.
He is later claimed to have said: “I might plead guilty next week”, as well as “I did some bad stuff but I’m not allowed to talk about it”.
Ms Rees concluded her opening remarks by alleging that each of the three defendants was guilty of the charges against them.
“We say that each defendant played their part in the death of a little five-year-old, Logan, and it is clear from the terrible injuries that he sustained that that must have been with the intention to kill or at the very least cause really serious injury,” she said.
“While the prosecution cannot say exactly what happened behind closed doors, the callous and cold-hearted behaviour of each defendant at the time after Logan’s death is consistent with them trying to desperately cover up their involvement in his death.”
The trial continues.
