Mother of murdered boy avoids jail because she’s a battered woman
She covered for sadist boyfriend who beat baby to death, but...
‘Catastrophic brain injury’
A MOTHER who covered for her sadistic boyfriend after he beat their baby son to death was freed yesterday after a judge accepted she was suffering from ‘battered woman syndrome’.
Chantelle Flynn, 25, had agreed with Craig Dawick to lie to police and doctors after he gave eight-monthold Leyton Flynn a fatal beating for crying too much.
Despite being out at the time of the attack, Flynn claimed she had been cuddling her son on the sofa when he started sweating, went pale and started making a ‘funny noise’.
She also insisted Dawick was a ‘brilliant father’ and said any injuries caused to the child were ‘accidental’.
Leyton was taken to hospital where he was found to have a ‘catastrophic brain injury’ plus fractures to his legs and arms and bruises to his head and body.
He died two days later with experts saying he suffered injuries usually seen in high-speed car accidents.
It emerged that Dawick, also 25, from Rochdale, had previously been violent during the couple’s relationship but Flynn took him back, sending him texts saying he was ‘beautiful’ and adding, ‘I love you darling, I really do’ followed by eight kisses.
The pair had a bust-up in September last year in which Dawick had reportedly threatened to ‘batter her to death’ but were soon back together. Just days later, Dawick was left alone with Leyton and when the child screamed and sobbed due to teething, he shouted at the youngster before leaving him with multiple fractures to his body consistent with being kicked or punched. He then rang Flynn for help.
At Manchester Crown Court Flynn was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child and perverting justice. But yesterday she broke down and sobbed as the judge, Mr Justice John Royce, branded Dawick the ‘real villain’ and said Flynn was ‘completely under his sway’.
Dawick was jailed for life with a minimum 21 years after being found guilty of murder in September. Imposing two years jail suspended for 24 months the judge told Flynn: ‘Parts of your life for the last ten years have been extremely turbulent. It seems you would sometimes say you hated Craig Dawick and wanted nothing to do with him and then not long after you send a text saying how much you loved him.
‘It became a pattern of you telling him to leave then having him back. You couldn’t live with him and you couldn’t bear to live without him.’
The judge referred to a psychological report that concluded the abuse Flynn suffered in childhood was likely to have impacted her ability to deal with Dawick.
‘You were especially vulnerable and it is a concern that you suffered from battered woman syndrome,’ he said. ‘The report concluded you had extremely low self-esteem and your low self-esteem keeps women in a perpetuating cycle of violence.
‘I have no shadow of a doubt about you being dominated, controlled and intimidated by Dawick and you had the feeling that somehow his abuse of you was your fault when it was certainly not.
‘Sending you to prison would run the risk of negating the fact that you are making a real effort to live a constructive life.’