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Builder inflicted fatal injuries on baby son, court hears

A builder killed his son by inflicting fatal brain injuries upon him moments before he called an ambulance to say he had found him collapsed, a court heard.

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Paul Thomas was accused in court of killing 11-month-old Oliver Sargent.

But prosecutor Andrew Smith told a jury they should also find his wife Ashlea Thomas guilty of murder.

Mr Smith said at the very least she would have known what was going on behind the closed doors of the family home in Telford and as such played a "supporting" or "encouraging" role in his death.

The tragic tot was rushed to Telford's Princess Royal Hospital on July 27, 2012, after his father made a frantic 999 call to West Midlands Ambulance Service to say he had collapsed and stopped breathing.

He was later transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital, but died four days after the collapse.

Scans while in hospital revealed Oliver had injuries including bleeding on the brain and eyes.

X-rays also showed fractures to his skull, ribs and collarbone.

The baby had been in and out of hospital and doctors' surgeries in the months before that, with his parents telling doctors and nurses he was constantly vomiting.

Mr Andrew Smith, prosecuting barrister, made his closing speech at Birmingham Crown Court, telling jurors: "There is fundamental certainty in this case that Oliver Sargent sustained his fatal brain injuries in the short moments before an ambulance was called by Paul Thomas.

"By the time the ambulance could be summoned, it was too late. He suffered a fatal injury that can only have been caused by one or both of his parents.

"He was murdered – this conclusion is one properly reached by careful and dispassionate analysis of all of the evidence.

"The prosecution believe Paul Thomas is the person who inflicted those fatal injuries on Oliver.

"Had Paul Thomas ever adjusted to parenthood?

"A man, by his own description, who let things get on top of him a bit too easily.

"A man who admitted to the jury he had a short fuse, an admission in direct contrast to his earlier evidence where he said he and Ashlea barely had a cross word.

"Oliver must have suffered fatal injuries between going to bed at around 6.30pm and the 999 call at 7.02pm.

"Paul Thomas was the only adult who had any contact with Oliver in this critical period."

Mr Smith told the jury Ashlea Thomas must have known what was going on.

He said she had asked police if they thought she had "battered Oliver" and later asked someone how long they thought she would get in prison.

Mr Smith said: "Their police interview can be summarised in one sentence: 'It was not me and I do not believe it was him or her, delete as applicable'.

"This was the party line from the defendants, sticking together. They were acting in concert."

"This case is not the mystery that Paul Thomas told the police he thought it was.

"This is not a case where 'nobody' is responsible.

"A close analysis of the evidence leads to the unassailable conclusion that both of these defendants bear criminal responsibility for Oliver Sargent's death.

"It is on that basis that the prosecution urges the jury to return guilty verdicts of murder."

Paul Thomas and Ashlea Thomas, 20, a nursery nurse, both formerly of Priory Way, St Georges, Telford, but now of Dalford Court, Hollinswood, Telford, both deny murder.

The couple also deny an alternative charge to murder of causing a child's death by not recognising there was a risk of significant harm by a member of the household between July 27 and July 31, 2012.

Both also face a charge of abusing, ill-treating, abandoning or neglecting Oliver in a manner likely to cause harm between March 12 and July 26, 2012. They deny all charges against them and insist they never harmed Oliver in any way. The trial continues.

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