Jury told to base verdicts on ‘evidence not theory’
DEFENCE BARRISTER’S CALL DURING CLOSING SPEECHES
THE jury in the trial of a stepdad accused of murdering a five-year-old boy have been asked to base their verdict on “evidence not theory”.
John Cole, 40, of Maesglas, Ynysawdre, Bridgend, denies the murder of his partner Angharad Williamson’s son Logan Mwangi, who was found dead on July 31 last year in a river near his home.
Williamson, 31, of Lower Llansantffraid, Sarn, Bridgend, and a third defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons due to his age, have also pleaded not guilty to murder and all are on trial at Cardiff Crown Court.
The prosecution says Logan was subjected to a “brutal and sustained assault” prior to his death and suffered the kind of injuries usually seen in car crash victims before his body was dumped in the River Ogmore.
Yesterday, David Elias QC, defending Cole, told the jury it has been a “harrowing trial”, and that Logan’s death was “truly horrific”.
He said his client has always accepted dumping Logan’s body in the river – something that was “unforgivable” – adding that he recognised that means Cole will be starting at a “low point” in the minds of the jurors.
He said the prosecution can’t say who inflicted the fatal injuries or when they were inflicted because of the state of the evidence but they “ask you to convict John Cole because he must have been involved”, what the prosecution described as an “irresistible inference” – “in other words you are driven to that conclusion because of the evidence”.
Mr Elias asked the jurors to decide the matter on “evidence not theory”.
The barrister said Cole has always accepted taking the five-year-old’s body to the river and said “what I did was disgusting and I deserve what I get for that” and has not sought to directly blame anyone else, saying he did not know what happened in the flat.
He said: “He [Cole] said ‘ The moment I moved that body that was disgusting’ but he has said time and time again ‘I did not kill Logan’.”
Mr Elias said Cole has maintained that account from the prepared statement he gave police in interview right through to his evidence to the trial from the witness box.
Speaking about the evidence the jury heard about Logan’s home life prior to his death, in particular from social workers and friends of the family, Mr Elias asked the jury “not to fall for any twisting of the narrative” about the dynamics of the family.
He said: “Be careful when the prosecution paints a picture of life in the months before Logan’s death.”
He told the jurors there is no evidence of the fatal assault on Logan being a “team effort”, as the prosecution asserts, and he invited them to consider “other scenarios”.
He said Cole did not have to give evidence but chose to do so, and during lengthy cross-examination his version of events did not change.
The barrister added that Cole has never “gratuitously pointed the finger” at his co-accused.
Mr Elias told the jurors that having reviewed all the evidence in the case, the defence says they cannot be sure of Cole’s guilt and therefore the “proper verdicts” are ones of not guilty to murder and not guilty to manslaughter.
All three defendants are 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 have pleaded not guilty, while Cole admits perverting the course of justice.
Williamson and Cole were also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, which they both deny.
The trial continues.