Mother and partner jailed over boy’s death

A convicted drug dealer who killed his partner’s three-year-old son during weeks of “horrendous” beatings has been jailed for at least 24 years.

Nathanial Pope, 32, left Kemarni Watson Darby with 20 broken ribs and 34 external injuries when he was found dead at his home in West Bromwich on June 5, 2018.

The child’s mother, Alicia Watson, was cleared of murder but found guilty of child cruelty and causing or allowing his death at a hearing last month. The 31-year-old was sentenced to 11 years in jail at Birmingham Crown Court yesterday.