Dad cleared of murdering baby after two-year probe

Liam Gary Cairns, 26, walked free from court after a judge ruled there was no evidence to suggest he deliberately or accidentally injured his 13-month-old son Aiden.

Aiden was pronounced dead on March 23 2014 after emergency services were called to a flat in Preston city centre at around 6.50am.

A post mortem revealed the cause of death was asphyxiation.

Cairns, of no fixed address, was arrested and charged with murder and a lesser charge of neglect in relation to Aiden.

But after two years of investigations, prosecutor Sally Howes QC said there was no case to answer, and Mr Justice Sweeney entered not guilty verdicts on both charges.

At the time of Aiden’s death, Cairns was subject to a child protection order which restricted his contact with his young son.

But the court heard he was making good progress and was allowed unsupervised contact during the day and supervised contact at night.

The post mortem carried out after Aiden’s death showed a number of bruises to his face and head.

But further analysis of the medical evidence provided no evidence that these injuries were non-accidental or inflicted by Cairns.

Aiden was not yet walking and the types of injuries could well have been accidental bumps in his everyday life, the court heard.

Furthermore, they may have been more noticeable due to the colour of Aiden’s skin when he arrived at hospital.

Cairns, who was due to stand trial this week, remained calm and composed as high court judge Mr Justice Sweeney ordered not guilty verdicts on murder and neglect.

It is understood he is living outside the local area.