Lying Leila Borrington gave a "false account" a break to her stepson's arm was "an accident", said a judge. Mr Justice Nicklin sentenced her for two violent attacks on vulnerable three-year-old Harvey Borrington before she ultimately killed him in one final act of violence.
The judge spoke to Borrington in the dock as he sentenced her on Thursday (March 16) to 15 years for the manslaughter of Harvey, who was three years and eight months when he died.
As Harvey's carer, first aid-trained Borrington delayed giving medical help to Harvey and videoed him unconscious on the living room floor. His death from a sustained violent assault, where he suffered a skull fracture, was the culmination of violence at the hands of Borrington, who caused a spiral fracture to his left arm months earlier on April 24, 2021,
Her evidence was Harvey, who had non verbal autisim, had lost his footing on the stairs of her home. But the judge said, by their verdict, the jury was sure that her account - that the fracture was caused by accident - was false and they were sure that she inflicted the injury deliberately. He sentenced her to two years in prison concurrent.
Read more: 'Calculating' stepmum filmed toddler on floor after he collapsed instead of getting help
Borrington, 23, of Main Road, Jacksdale, accepted she caused bruising to his cheeks during the weekend of July 23-July 26, 2021. Prosecutor Jonas Hankin KC told the court she squeezed his face with sufficient force she left fingermarks on his cheeks, and "this is not a woman who doesn't have a family network of support, as evidenced from the number of people sitting in the jury box today" (the jury seats were used for family attending).
Borrington said she caused the bruising to his cheeks to remove food from Harvey's mouth - but the jury were sure that she had caused those injuries deliberately, said the judge, as he sentenced her to six months concurrently. And, he said, the incident that led to Harvey’s death took place just before 2pm on Saturday, August 6, 2021, when her partner Jonathan had gone out to the cinema, leaving her at home with Harvey.
The judge told her in the dock: "During the trial we saw video footage of Harvey playing with his toys and placing items into the dishwasher. Within less than 30 minutes, further video footage showed Harvey unconscious on the living room floor.
"Precisely what happened to Harvey only you know. By their verdict, the jury were sure that your account of Harvey having fallen, hitting his head on the floor, was not the truth, or at least not the full truth.
"The jury’s verdict shows that they were sure that you had assaulted Harvey, causing the very serious head injuries that ultimately led to his death. The overall evidence, particularly the expert evidence, demonstrates that that must have been a sustained violent assault".
And he said Harvey’s death had a profound effect on those who loved him. "We have heard the moving statement of his mother, Katie Holroyd, which she bravely read to the Court this morning," he added. "She said that she bears a ‘life-long torment’ and speaks not only of her grief and loss, but also of her parents, Sandra and Alan, who have lost a grandson.
"Katie no doubt speaks for all those who grieve for Harvey’s death when she says that no sentence the Court can impose will fix the harm that you have done, “the pain, the suffering, the loss that we have to deal with as a family will continue for the rest of our lives”. "Although Harvey’s father has not provided a victim statement, I am sure that he carries the same burden of loss. Like Katie, Jonathan Borrington has attended every day of the trial".
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