A young mother has been found guilty of cruelty and causing or allowing the death of her 13-month-old baby boy, Noah, while her boyfriend has been found guilty of murdering him and causing his death.
A British court heard that Hardeep Hunjan, 27, and Noah’s mother, Ronnie Tayler-Morrison, 22, binged on illicit substances at their home in Crawley Road, Luton, during the baby’s final hours. They then lied to police during interviews, claiming Noah had fallen from his cot and was “awake and moving with his eyes open” but “not with it and not crying”.
However, it is now clear Noah died after sustaining a 15 cm skull fracture caused by being slammed against a hard surface, the BBC reports.
Noah also suffered 15 limb fractures in total, similar in scale to those sustained by people who fall from buildings or are involved in severe car crashes. Some were sustained up to six weeks before he died.
Medical experts confirmed Noah would have been severely brain-injured had he survived the sustained abuse.
Detective Fraser Wylie said: “Rarely do we come across a case that involves such sheer malice and utter cruelty against a small child, by two people who were supposed to love and care for him.”
“Throughout this case the disregard shown by both Tayler-Morrison – Noah’s own mother – and Hunjan has been evident, not least in the fact they attempted to evade justice by attempting to flee to Scotland whilst on bail.
“Poor Noah experienced fear, pain, neglect and extreme brutality during his too-short life. No child deserves that, and it has been evident throughout our investigation and the trial that Tayler-Morrison and Hunjan chose a tumultuous, drug- and alcohol-fuelled lifestyle over his happiness and welfare.”
The couple will be sentenced on Friday.
