‘Two-year-old murder victim had cocaine in system’

A two-year-old boy who was battered to death by his father had cocaine in his system, a court heard.

Jurors heard Raphael Kennedy, 31, waited two hours before calling an ambulance, leaving his son Dylan Tiffin-brown to die in agonising pain.

Paramedics found the boy’s body in a house in Northampton, on Dec 15 last year. They took the toddler to Northampton General Hospital but he was pronounced dead 30 minutes later.

A post-mortem examination revealed he had multiple cuts to his liver and suffered catastrophic internal bleeding.

Northampton Crown Court also heard the toddler had ingested cocaine shortly before he died. Dr Peter Sidebotham, a forensic toxicologist, told the court the boy ingested cocaine “four to 12 hours” prior to his death.

The jury also heard how hundreds of pounds worth of drugs was seized from Kennedy’s house by police.

At an earlier hearing, the jury heard Kennedy’s son had an extensive series of rib fractures that would have been inflicted hours, days and weeks before his death, which were “likely not accidental”. Kennedy, of Northampton, denies murder. The trial continues.