A jury has been taken on a tour of the South Wales flat where a five-year-old was allegedly murdered – and the spot where his body was found.
The battered and bruised body of Logan Mwangi, also known as Logan Williamson, was discovered in the River Ogmore in Sarn, Bridgend on the morning of July 31 2021.
He had suffered more than 56 injuries and died from blunt force trauma, Cardiff Crown Court was told this week.
His mother Angharad Williamson, 30, stepfather John Cole, 40, and a 14-year-old boy who cannot legally be identified are on trial for his murder.
All three deny killing the young boy.
Cole has admitted carrying Logan from his home in Lower Llansantffraid and dumping him in the river, and later getting rid of the boy’s bloodied pyjama top in nearby woodland.
On Wednesday, midway through the second week of the trial, the jury of five men and seven women was driven to the murder scene in two minibuses, having been escorted from the court by a police motorcade.
Along with court staff, several barristers and judge Mrs Justice Jefford DBE, they were taken inside the ground floor flat where Logan lived.
The property, where the youngster allegedly suffered a “brutal and sustained” attack, has been boarded up since the police investigation, with each window and door now covered by metal screens.
Jurors were led around the cramped flat in groups of three because of its size and concerns over social distancing.
Most of the family’s possessions remained inside the flat and, as jurors entered the porch, a green dinosaur and Simba toy could be seen on the floor.
A narrow hallway had plastic boxes filled with even more toys.
Several pairs of children’s Nike trainers in various sizes accompanied an adult pair in a row near the doorway.
On piles of items in the living room lay a new baby romper suit with the price tag still on it.
Large Marvel’s The Avengers posters hung on the wall.
Large black flat-screen TVs were on the wall in both the living room and in Williamson and Cole’s bedroom.
In the adult’s bedroom, a baby’s cot sat to the left.
Next door, Logan’s bedroom was decorated with dinosaur-print curtains. An alarm remained fixed to his window.
The child’s single bed was gone, having been removed for forensic checks.
Dirty dishes were in the kitchen sink and a whiteboard showing the family’s meal plans for July and August was on the wall.
In the kitchen, a police officer pointed out the washing machine and clothes dryer Williamson is accused of using to clean Logan’s bloodied bedlinen at around the same time – 5.45am – she made a frantic 999 call to report her son missing.
After leaving the flat, the jury was led down a nearby path which leads to the river.
The route is the one Cole and the youth are accused of taking to hide Logan’s body in the early hours of the morning.
In CCTV footage recovered by police, Cole can be seen carrying Logan, whose arms were crossed over his shoulder, the court was told.
In a corner of Pandy Park, jurors were taken through a gap in the fence and bushes which leads down to a section of riverbank, near to where police constable Lauren Keen found Logan lying in the foetal position on rocks and pebbles.
Overhead pipes cross the river at the spot where Logan’s body was found, and a railway bridge is on the right.
The water level was much higher than when Logan was found because it is winter, jurors were told.
The jury was then taken farther along the path and over another bridge before reaching the wooded area where Logan’s torn dinosaur top was found on the banks of a main road.
Cole told police he and the teenager returned to the flat after dumping Logan’s body and went back out to hide the pyjama top after Williamson gave it to them.
All three defendants are also charged with perverting the course of justice, which Williamson and the youth deny.
Williamson and Cole are also accused of causing or allowing the death of a child, which they both deny.
The trial will break for two days before beginning again on Monday, and is estimated to last for about six more weeks.
