Jury to be sent out to consider verdict on Blackpool tattoo artist accused of murdering toddler son
The jury charged with deciding if a Lancashire dad murdered his two-year-old son will be sent out to consider its verdict at midday on Wednesday.
Daniel Hardcastle has denied causing a catastrophic head injury which resulted in the death of toddler Damion Russell insisting he tripped and fell, hitting his skull on a coffee table.
But the prosecution claim the trauma was a deliberate act inflicted on the child by his father – the last in a string of injuries which the young boy suffered at the hands of the 31-year-old single parent.
Trial judge The Honourable Mrs Justice King completed her summing up on Tuesday afternoon after a trial spanning four weeks.
She decided to allow the 12 men and women trying the case time to reflect overnight on a mountain of evidence before returning to Court 7 at Preston Crown Court at noon to begin their deliberations.
Hardcastle, of Central Drive, Blackpool, has steadfastly maintained his innocence since he was charged with Damion’s murder in August last year. He said the little boy had balance and walking issues which meant he regularly fell over.
A procession of witnesses including family, friends and staff from the childcare sector have given evidence to say he was a loving and caring father who looked after his son to the best of his ability.
But medical experts produced by the prosecution claimed the injuries found on little Damion’s body at the time of his death – numerous bruises, a gashed mouth and two fractured ribs - showed he had been subjected to violent assaults over a period of time.
Hardcastle’s counsel John Jones KC attacked their assumptions as “just theories” which were not backed up by fact.
Mr Jones told the jury: “Your duty is to give a true verdict according to the evidence and it is not sheer guesswork or speculation.”
In his closing speech he said: “These experts were not there. They gave (their) opinion to explain facts and events as to what could have happened. That’s as far as they go.
“That is the danger of this. You have to be satisfied so you are sure that Damion died because his father killed him. That’s it.”
The lawyer related evidence from childcare staff who had told the court that they had never had the slightest concern about Hardcastle’s behaviour as a father or his ability to look after his child.
Some had confirmed the little boy had been unsteady on his feet and had seen him fall on “numerous occasions.”
One nursery worker said: “It was obviously a loving relationship.” Hardcastle, she said, had been “a very caring dad who only wanted the best for Damion.” The toddler had been “well cared for, always well dressed and clean.” And she added: “He was doing his best.”
Mrs Justice King spent almost a full day in total methodically summing up the evidence which had been given by both prosecution and defence witnesses over the course of the trial.
She will send the jury out at midday asking them to reach a verdict on which they are all agreed.