A school boy allegedly suffered dozens of injuries after his body was found in a bath at his home, a court heard.
Coventry Crown Court held the opening day of a trial today which heard how Alfie Steele, 9, allegedly suffered 'sinister forms of punishment' from his mother, Carla Scott, and her partner Dirk Howell. The Birmingham couple stand accused of the boy's murder.
Michelle Heeley, KC, prosecuting said "both 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." Ms Heeley highlighted that these forms of punishment included 'dunking' him "in cold baths whilst naked" or forcing Alfie to "stand outside, in the middle of the night and have cold water" thrown on him.
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She added: "Alfie died as a result of the deliberate and unlawful actions of Carla Scott and Dirk Howell and, together, they are guilty of his murder." Alfied had 50 injuries all over his body of which only a handful were down to normal childhood bumps and scrapes, Ms Heeley said medical experts would say.
She went on to say that Scott's new relationship with Howell, which started two years after she separated from Alfie's father, was "not a happy one" for her son. She added: "Dirk Howell believed in discipline. For Dirk Howell discipline was far more physical and psychological."
The court heard how Alfie died on February 18, 2021. On the day of his death, Ms Scott dialled 999 and claimed he had hit his head and "fallen asleep in the bath". Within six minutes, emergency services arrived on the scene, at which point he was already "lifeless" and "cold to the touch".
When asked by police who noticed "lumps and bruising on his face" how long it had been since Scott found Alfie, she said "about an hour ago". However, she then said "it was 10 minutes ago", according to the prosecution.
Alfie was taken to Worcester Royal Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3.55pm. A post-mortem examination concluded the cause of his death was "unascertained".
Ms Heeley said: "He didn't die of natural causes, he had bruises all over his body, and signs that he had been deprived of oxygen.
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