How boy’s evil mother and stepfather turned on each other In court
THE evil mother and stepfather of Logan Mwangi worked together to dump his body and remove evidence of his murder. But the couple dramatically turned on each other in court with accusations of violence and lying.
John Cole, 40, and Angharad Williamson, 31, concocted a plan to avoid justice by reporting Logan missing and staged an elaborate performance to the police which saw Williamson crying and wailing while begging for her son to be found.
Cole and the youth searched the streets shouting Logan’s name knowing full well the innocent little boy was lying dead in the river.
Following the arrests of the three defendants, Cole denied killing Logan but admitted to dumping his body after Williamson had told him her son had died in a “freak accident”.
Williamson maintained she genuinely believed Logan had gone missing but in her fifth police interview she claimed Cole and the youth had attacked Logan.
During the trial a bad character application on behalf of the prosecution sought to adduce evidence Cole held racist beliefs and had previously been a member of the National Front.
Prosecutor Caroline Rees QC said Cole “dehumanised” Logan because of the colour of his skin and called him “Coco Pop” because of his mixed race.
The court heard Cole was described as “very racist” by former friends and partners and was a member of the National Front. Ms Rees said: “His view of Logan was infected by racism.”
It was also alleged that three women expressed the view that Cole was “controlling, overpowering and uneasy”.
An application was also made to put before the jury evidence from two women who previously had relationships with Cole. They alleged Cole committed “serious violent assaults” during their relationships.
The applications were rejected by Mrs Justice Jefford on the grounds that some of this evidence was based on “belief” or alleged incidents for which Cole had not been convicted.
The passage of time was also given as a reason due to the alleged violent assaults taking place more than 20 years ago. The court was also told Cole was convicted of a common assault on a child in 2002 but this was not put before the jury.
During his police interview Cole claimed he was woken up by Williamson who he claimed told him Logan was dead from a “freak accident”.
He said: “I woke up to Angharad screaming: ‘He’s dead, Logan’s dead’. He was lying on his back with his head to the side in a weird position. His eyes were wide open. I moved his head and it flopped and there was no response.
“I tried to perform CPR and blew in his mouth and held his nose. There was no pulse. I did this for ages, like 10 to 15 minutes. Angharad was frantic and hyperventilating. I was desperate to save him. Eventually I stopped and she said: ‘He’s dead, he’s dead’. There’s nothing I could do. Angharad said she could hear him taking his last breath.”
He added: “I didn’t hit him in the tummy and didn’t see Angharad hit him in the stomach. He had been jumping around all day [on July 30] and it had been a difficult day.
“Both of us grabbed him and took him to the bedroom. I wish to make it clear - I don’t know what happened, if anything, after I fell asleep at midnight. I don’t believe Angharad would have hit him. We were both guilty of getting frustrated with him and grabbing him and smacking him.
“Angharad smacked him earlier that day but missed and caught him on the cheek.”
He also told police that after dumping Logan’s body Williamson had told him to get rid of Logan’s ripped pyjama top, which he dumped in woodland.
During her police interview, Williamson told officers: “I feel conned, so conned. I wish I had never met [Cole]. They’ve ruined my life.”
She later said: “I don’t want him anywhere near me again.”
Williamson said she was frightened of Cole and was scared he would have her killed if she told the truth.
During his evidence in their trial, Cole accused Williamson of abusing Logan and referred to three occasions when he claimed she picked him up and shook him. He said: “She grabbed him and told him to stop f ******* lying. [Grabbed] him by the biceps and shook him.” Cole said Williamson also shook Logan on July 29 after it was believed he had caused
damage to her stereo and laptop.
It was also alleged by the defendant that Williamson grabbed Logan by his pyjama top, causing it to rip around the collar, and threw him on his bed.