Murder-accused youth thought ‘Logan’s dead’ shouts were a dream, court told
A YOUTH accused of murdering a five-year-old told police officers he thought early morning shouts of “He’s dead, Logan’s dead” had been a dream, a court heard yesterday.
The teenage boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made the claim as detectives quizzed him for the third time about the death of Logan Mwangi.
Logan’s body was found in a river near his home in Bridgend last July.
Logan’s mother Angharad Williamson, 30, of Lower Llansantffraid, Sarn, Bridgend, and stepdad John Cole, 40, of Maesglas, Ynysawdre, Bridgend, deny his murder.
The third defendant, the teenager, has also pleaded not guilty to murder. The three all are on trial at Cardiff Crown Court.
Previously the trial heard that Logan had suffered catastrophic injuries usually seen in car crash victims – which included a torn bowel and a tear in his liver.
The prosecution says the youngster’s body was dumped in the river as if it was “fly-tipping”.
On Monday, jurors heard the youth’s answers to detective constable Carol Saunders – the police officer who interviewed the teen six times at Bridgend Bridewell police station following his arrest.
In the first interview, the youth told DC Saunders that he had not hurt Logan, nor was he responsible for the boy’s death.
He told the interviewing officer that on the evening of July 31, 2021, the day before Logan’s body was found, he and Cole spoke about rubbish in the back garden before deciding to dump it in the river – because it would have “cost hundreds of pounds to get rid of it”.
The youth said he did not know what was in the bag and was not involved in bagging it up either. He told DC Saunders there were about five in total, with Cole carrying three – and said they “weren’t too heavy”.
In his second interview, the youth was again asked about the events of July 30 – and he said that Logan was too boisterous and that Williamson and Cole had “put Logan in a corner to calm down”.
When asked if Cole and Williamson shouted at Logan, the youth said: “(Williamson) shouted at Logan yes and (Cole) shouted at Logan a little bit.
“(Williamson) picked him up and shouted at him something like ‘Tell the truth’ something along those lines... She picked him up in the hallway and asked him a question, I can’t remember what question but I saw him being picked up and shook him and said ‘Tell the truth’. She kind of shouted in his face.
“She just picked him up by his T-shirt or his arms and shook him and shouted ‘Tell the truth’ in his face... I saw Logan on his knees, I think he slipped out of her hands or she dropped him ... It was just quick.”
He added that Logan continued to be “a bit difficult” and that “he threw a toy and it broke”.
The youth was asked about Logan’s dinner that evening as well.
He said: “(Logan) didn’t want any dinner, he was just refusing. He sat there with his mouth closed and started shaking his head. We knew something was up because it was pizza and chips and it was his favourite. No one turns down pizza and chips, so I don’t know.
“He was being a d*** about it and kept messing around, saying ‘I don’t want it, you eat it’... He said his stomach hurt at the time and he didn’t want to eat... He said he had an ouchy in his stomach.”
And, in the fourth interview, DC Saunders began by going through the evidence of Cole – telling the youth that Cole said Logan was “kicking off” and Williamson went to his room to calm him down and she later shouted out “He’s dead, Logan’s dead”.
When asked if he heard that, the youth said: “No.”
It was put to him that Cole had performed CPR on Logan for 15 minutes during which time Williamson was “frantic and hyperventilating”. The youth claimed he didn’t hear this.
He was also asked if he heard Cole and Williamson talking about what they were going to do with Logan’s body and she was shouting ‘What do we do, what do we do’.
The youth claimed he didn’t hear this.
It was also put to him that Cole had claimed the youth responded to the noise and was trying to get into their room.
Youth: “What do you mean?... I don’t know.”
Following a break in the interview, which was requested by the youth’s solicitor, the youth then returned to tell DC Saunders that he had gone into the bedroom – and said that he wasn’t sure before because he “thought it was a dream”.
He told the officer: “When you said it, it must have happened because the same thing happened in my dream so it must not have been a dream.”
He also claimed he had bad ears so was unable to hear anything other than Williamson shouting ‘He’s dead’.
He added: “I put my headphones in. Because of the shouting I was trying to respect them... I put my headphones in and started singing to myself.
“I was scared, worried, I don’t know how to explain it. I was scared, I didn’t know what was happening and I thought it was a dream.”
In his final interview, DC Saunders told the youth that Williamson had told police that he (the youth) had hit Logan.
He replied: “No, I would never touch Logan.”
The youth was also asked if he did martial arts and he confirmed he did when he was younger.
Concluding the interview, DC Saunders then said: “Do you have anything else you’d like to say?”
Youth: “You can tell (Williamson) to f*** off for me.”
DC Saunders: “Why that?”
Youth: “She’s blaming me and (Cole) for everything and we haven’t done anything. I am sick of this, she’s saying what she wants to get out of the f****** cells.”
All three defendants are also accused of perverting the course of justice, including moving Logan’s body to the river near Pandy Park, removing his clothing, washing bloodstained bed linen, and making a false missing person report to police.
Williamson and the youth pleaded not guilty to both offences while Cole denied murder but admitted perverting the course of justice.
Williamson and Cole were also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, which they both denied.
The trial, expected to last around eight weeks, continues.