A mother accused of killing her five-year-old son told a custody officer after her arrest “my partner beat him”, a court has heard.
Logan Mwangi, also known as Logan Williamson, was discovered in the River Ogmore in Sarn, Bridgend, South Wales, on July 31 2021, having been subjected to a “brutal and sustained assault”.
Angharad Williamson, 30, Logan’s stepfather John Cole and a 14-year-old boy are on trial for his murder at Cardiff Crown Court.
The jury on Friday saw videos of Williamson being arrested the day after Logan was found dead, when she cried and shouted “I haven’t done anything wrong”.
In the footage taken from the body camera of arresting police constable Victoria Strong, Williamson can be seen sitting on the bottom stairs of Cole’s property in Maesglas, Sarn.
Williamson, sobbing, said: “I haven’t done anything, I ask for your help and now you’re blaming me.”
While the youth was being arrested, Williamson called to him and said: “Do what you’re told please. You have done nothing wrong.”
Williamson was taken to Bridgend Police Station, and while changing in a shower area made a comment to a custody officer.
In a statement read to the court, Clare Sparrow said Williamson told her: “My partner beats him and I was trying to deal with it myself.”
Ms Sparrow said she immediately told Williamson to make no further comment to her.
Another statement was read to the court by healthcare worker Andrew Vaughan, who had gone to the police station on August 2 to give Williamson her medication.
When Williamson entered the room Mr Vaughan said: “She said ‘I can’t believe it, I have just seen evidence of those two carrying the body out of the back door.
“I held him, I stroked his face, I couldn’t believe the amount of injuries on him’.”
He said the comment had “stayed with him”.
Phone evidence continued on Friday with discussions about the videos accessed on Williamson’s phone the night before Logan was discovered, which included a number of pimple or blackhead removal videos.
In total, 140 such YouTube videos had been viewed on the phone since November 2019, the jury were told.
Videos of that nature were said not to have been viewed on the phones belonging to Cole or the youth.
Police Constable Scot Anderson, detective sergeant in digital forensic investigations at South Wales Police, said the phones had been analysed to look for “patterns of viewing”.
The jury heard a clip entitled “Large blackhead extraction” had been viewed on Williamson’s phone at 1.17am on July 31, 2021.
CCTV footage from less than two hours later, at 2.43am, shows Cole carrying Logan out of the house.
Digital forensic investigator Jessica Rowlands gave evidence, and under cross-examination by Cole’s counsel David Elias QC, confirmed videos including “Kidnapped four-year-old Rebecca Lewis reunited with family”, “Family speaks after Utah babysitter is sentenced to prison for shaking baby”, and “Missing toddler just clung to me” had also been viewed on Williamson’s phone.
Williamson and the teenager deny both murder and perverting the course of justice, while Cole denies murder but admits the second charge.
Cole and Williamson are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child.
The trial continues.
