A judge was today due to sum up the case against a couple accused of killing a three-year-old Black Country boy.

Mrs Justice Macur was addressing the jury on completion of the last of the closing speeches delivered on behalf of the defence.

The jury is expect to retire tomorrow to consider its verdicts in the three-week long trial of Christopher Taylor, aged 25, and his 19-year-old girlfriend Kayley Boleyn.

The couple are accused of murdering Ryan Lovell-Hancox who died after being taken from the bedsit they shared in Slim Avenue, Bradley.

The child had a serious head injury and at least 54 visible signs of injury on his body, Wolverhampton Crown Court has heard. He had been looked after at the flat for over three weeks after Boleyn agreed to care for him for an unspecified period because his unmarried mother, Amy Hancox, was having trouble coping with the demands of bringing up two children alone, it was said.

The two women are distant cousins and had known each other for many years, the jury was told.

Ryan was found to be suffering from a brain haemorrhage when taken to New Cross Hospital, Wolverhampton on December 22, 2008 and died without regaining consciousness on Christmas Eve from a cardiac arrest following his transfer to Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

Home Office pathologist Dr Stephen Wills claimed there was a direct link between the death of the boy and the head injury.

He alleged this had been caused by up to 10 blows to the scalp, possible after coming into contact with the floor or a wall.

Prosecutor Mr Christopher Hotten QC said the fatal injury and many of the other marks found on the body of Ryan had been caused by the two defendants.InterviewsTaylor and Boleyn initially claimed the boy had been hurt falling in the bath, but doctors dismissed this explanation because of the extent of the injuries.

The pair later admitted during police interviews that they had lied and then started blaming for each other. Each claimed they were dominated by their partner who had been responsible for the non-accidental injuries suffered by the child while he was living with them at the bedsit.Boleyn chose not to give evidence from the witness box during the trial but Taylor told the jury he had not harmed Ryan.

Bur Mr Hotten concluded: “These two young people blame each other but neither did anything to help the child – and neither has told the truth.

“The descent into abuse and death would have ended if one had broken ranks and got this child out of the property. They were in it together and acted together to cover up what they had been doing.

“We do not suggest that there was a plan to abuse Ryan but they were supporting and encouraging each other in the ill treatment.”

Taylor and Boleyn both deny murder and child cruelty. He also pleads not guilty to causing or allowing the death of a child while she admits allowing the death.