Woman shook one-year-old baby she hoped to adopt to death to stop him crying, court told

A woman accused of murdering a baby she was trying to adopt has told a court that she shook the one-year-old to "stop him crying" -  but did not have any intention of killing him.

Laura Castle initially claimed baby Leiland-James Corkill fell off the sofa at her home in Barrow-in-Furness in January 2021.

Medics treating the child raised the alarm when they found his catastrophic head injuries did not match her story.

The 38-year-old continued to maintain his death was an accident until the eve of her trial when she admitted manslaughter.

She told Preston Crown Court on Tuesday, 10 May she 'lost her mind' and shook the child after he failed to stop crying.

Leiland-James was taken into care shortly after he was born before he was approved by authorities to live with Laura Castle and her husband, Scott, from August 2020.

The Crown say Castle was struggling within days of taking care of Leiland-James.

She sent text messages to her husband which she referred to the one-year-old baby as a “proper n** head”, a “fat s***” and a “top t***”.

Castle told jurors that Leiland-James was “screaming” after breakfast on the morning of 6 January.

She told her barrister, David McLachlan QC: “I shook my beautiful boy. I just wanted him to stop crying.”

Mr McLachlan asked: “How many times did you shake him?”

Castle replied: “I don’t know.”

Mr McLachlan went on: “How much force did you use to shake him?”

The defendant said: “I don’t know but I would say a lot.”

She explained Leiland-James hit his head on the back of the arm of the sofa and fell off her knee to the floor.

Castle said: “I picked him up. I just couldn’t take the crying. I don’t know who that person is and then it’s like I realised what had happened and I thought he was winded.

“I picked him up and his hands were like stiff, then he went floppy. He was like gasping and I just though he was winded.”

Castle accepted she had killed Leiland-James as she wept.

Mr McLachlan asked: “What went through your mind when you shook the life out of Leiland-James?”

Castle said: “Please stop crying, please stop crying. I just wanted it stop.”

She said at the time she told her husband the boy had fallen off the sofa, but omitted to inform him about the shaking.

Mr McLachlan said: “Why didn’t you tell the people trying their best to save Leiland-James’s life what had happened?”

Castle said: “I don’t have an excuse. I just panicked. I was just terrified of the consequences of my actions and ashamed.”

She admitted she had not also given a full account in her prepared defence statement ahead of the trial.

Castle said: “I found it so hard to admit that your child has died because of your actions, and I can’t take that back.”

Mr McLachlan asked: “When you shook Leiland-James, what did you intend Mrs Castle?

She replied: “I didn’t have any intention. I just lost my mind.”

Laura Castle denies murder and child cruelty.

Her husband, Scott Castle, denies causing or allowing the death of Leiland-James and also child cruelty.

The trial continues.