A woman has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for filming her three-year-old stepson as he lay dying on the floor with a severe head injury instead of calling for an ambulance.
Harvey Borrington was found unconscious and unresponsive by paramedics at the family home on August 7, 2021.
Leila Borrington, Harvey’s stepmother, had claimed that the toddler fell off a chair and she had filmed him moaning on the floor before calling 999 to “show paramedics.
” However, medical experts found that Harvey’s injuries, including a fractured skull and a fatal bleed on the brain, were caused by repeated blows, rather than a single fall.
Several older injuries, including a broken arm, were also discovered.
Instead of calling for an ambulance, Borrington texted Harvey’s father, who was at the cinema, saying, “Why does this happen to me?” The 23-year-old stepmother was found guilty of manslaughter, assault, and causing grievous bodily harm.
The High Court judge who sentenced her, Mr. Justice Nicklin, said that the unlawful killing of her stepson, who had severe non-verbal autism, had a profound effect on his loved ones.
He also stated that the death of the three-year-old must have been the result of a “sustained violent assault.
” The judge also noted that Borrington had displayed “a shocking lack of care and concern” for Harvey in text messages she sent after breaking his arm in April 2021.
During the trial at Nottingham Crown Court, Borrington denied ever hitting Harvey, but a jury found her guilty of manslaughter.
She was acquitted of an alternative charge of murder. Borrington, who is from Jacksdale, Nottingham, was also convicted of separate charges of assaulting and causing grievous bodily harm to Harvey.
Jurors cleared Borrington of three charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. After the verdicts were announced, the killer stepmother wiped away tears with the back of her hands.
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