A mum and her partner have been found guilty of killing her nine-year-old son after a sinister campaign of violence against him.
Defenceless schoolboy Alfie Steele was beaten and held down in a bath as a punishment at his home in Droitwich, Worcestershire, in February 2021, prior to his death.
Carla Scott and fiancé Dirk Howell subjected the boy to repeated assaults and would often force him into cold baths as part of a cruel and "sinister" regime of correction.
Howell, 41, was found guilty of murdering the young boy and Scott was convicted of manslaughter.
The jury found her not guilty of murdering Alfie.
Prosecutor Michelle Heeley KC claimed both defendants thought it was acceptable to hit Alfie with "belts, or a slider, like a heavy-duty flip flop, and use other more sinister forms of punishment".
She added that Alfie had 50 injuries all over his body, with only a handful likely to be due to normal childhood bumps and scrapes.
The boy was also heard screaming as he allegedly begged to be allowed inside his house 18 months before he died in a video taken by a neighbour months before he was found dead, the court heard.
Scott, 35, told her trial she had not "belted" Alfie, while Howell, 41, said he did not beat the schoolboy or attempt to stage a cover-up, instead claiming to have attempted CPR to revive his alleged victim.
Howell, Birmingham, denied murder, manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of Alfie.
Scott, of Droitwich, also denied murder, manslaughter, causing or allowing the death of Alfie and child cruelty offences.
Harrowing footage shows the moment the mum told officers Alfie had "banged his head in the bath".
Police bodycam video and audio of a 999 call was released by the CPS during the couple's murder trial at Coventry Crown Court.
Jurors were played the emergency call made by Scott at at 2.24pm on February 18, 2021, in which she claims her son had "fallen asleep" and drowned in the bath.
She remains calm as she tells the operator she could "feel a rattle" on her son’s chest, adding: "He’s not breathing, but he keeps making noises."
After being told an ambulance was on the way, Scott says: "He fell asleep in the bath. He's got asthma. When he was a baby he got pneumonia."
The operator then gives instructions on giving CPR to Alfie, before Scott says: "I can see him breathing a bit. Not a lot but I can see him breathing a bit."
Bodycam camera footage shows the landing of the home full of paramedics and officers, and Scott standing in the doorway of a "dark, dirty and dishevelled" bedroom where Alfie was found.
Scott can also be seen making a phone call to Howell in another clip to ask him where he was, and tells him: "He's gone up to hospital, they won't let me go up there yet.
"There's loads of police, they've got detectives and everything."
She ends the phone call by saying "I will do, I love you too" and makes a kissing sound down the phone.
Prior to sending the jury out on Friday morning, Mr Justice Wall said: "There is no time pressure on you as to how long you should take to reach verdicts.
"This is a serious case and you will want to give it the time you think it needs.
"Don't worry about the clock - worry about talking it through and reaching the right verdicts based on the evidence you accept," she added.
