Postman who beat toddler to death blamed child’s father

A POSTMAN who beat his girlfriend’s 18-month-old toddler to death tried to blame the injuries on the child’s biological father, a court heard.

Scott Coombe, 24, inflicted sickening abuse on Andrew Cawker for months while the boy’s mother Tamika Beaton, 25, turned a blind eye to the injuries he was causing to her son.

Andrew suffered a head injury on July 9 2019 and died in King’s College Hospital, south London, 13 days later.

Coombe, of Petts Wood, Kent, left the boy with bruises and scars all over his body but Beaton did nothing with the pair both blaming Andrew’s father, Ben Cawker, prosecutors said.

In January last year Coombe admitted killing Andrew by grabbing him and throwing him to the floor. He was jailed for nine years yesterday for manslaughter and child cruelty. Beaton denied but was convicted of child cruelty. She was sentenced to 12 months prison suspended for 18 months.

The Recorder of London, Judge Mark Lucraft said: ‘It would seem he [Coombe] tried to blame the biological father as well as the child himself for their injuries. There can be nothing worse for a natural father to be blamed for causing injuries to your own child.’

The judge told Coombe: “It appears that putting blame on others is the main aggravating feature of this case.”

Paul Mendelle, representing Coombe, told the court how he struggled to cope with childcare for Andrew who was a “boisterous child with high levels of energy and highly demanding”.