Logan Mwangi: Mother used hot teaspoon to burn boy's neck, stepfather tells court

The stepfather of a five-year-old boy who was found dead in a river has told a court the boy's mother once used a hot teaspoon to burn his neck.

The body of Logan Mwangi, also known as Logan Williamson, was found in the River Ogmore in Pandy Park, Bridgend, on the morning of July 31 2021.

He had suffered catastrophic injuries likened to those found on victims of high-speed crashes or a fall from a height.

Logan's mother, Angharad Williamson, 30, his stepfather John Cole, and a 14-year-old boy, who cannot legally be identified, are on trial at Cardiff Crown Court accused of murder. All three deny the charge.

Court 5 in Cardiff Crown Court was quiet with anticipation on Wednesday (March 30), as the jury prepared to hear directly from one of the defendants in the case for the first time. 

Under direction from the Court Clerk, John Cole took the affirmation to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Wearing a light grey tracksuit, he sat down and was asked by his barrister to take his Covid mask off. 

Speaking with a slight lisp, Mr Cole told the court he was born in Rugby in England and had moved to Wales in 2017, when he was still in a relationship with another woman. 

Justice Jefford interrupted to ask Mr Cole to speak up because he was not being audible to the jury. 

“Did anything change for you in 2006 and 2007?", Mr Elias asked Mr Cole, who said his sister died in childbirth in 2006.

"How did that affect you?", Mr Elias asked.

“Traumatically”, Cole replied. 

“Up to that point I was drifting back and forwards in a lot of crime. After my sister died I decided to change my life”. 

The move to Bridgend in 2017 was for a “fresh start” because, Mr Cole said, where they lived in England “wasn’t a nice place”. 

He met Angharad, who was living with Logan, in Easter 2019. At this point in Mr Cole’s evidence, Ms Williamson began crying in the dock. 

Asked about the start of his relationship with Ms Williamson, Mr Cole said “it was amazing”.

“We clicked, we connected instantly. We bonded straight away”. 

Cole began to sound choked up as he talked about important moments in the pair’s relationship. 

“How did you get on with Logan?” Mr Cole was asked. “Amazingly”, he replied. 

“How did you view Logan in the family?”, Mr Elias asked.

“For the first year or so I was step dad, and he didn’t call me dad because he was still sort of in contact with his dad”, Mr Cole replied.

Attending court via video link, the 14-year-old defendant wiped tears from his eyes during parts of Cole’s evidence. 

Cole was asked if he ever made Logan do press ups. Cole said this was done to “burn off energy” when Logan was being hyperactive.

Asked about whether the couple ever withheld food from Logan, Cole told the jury: “We used to do takeaway nights, and if he’d been really naughty, we wouldn’t let him have the takeaway with us. We would give him other food, but he would miss out on that”. 

“How was your relationship with Logan?, Mr Elias asked.

“I tried with him every day”, Cole said. “I taught him his phonics and how to shuffle [a type of dance], so he could show his mum. 

“I’m quite good at art, see”, Cole continued, “so I spent quite a lot of time teaching him to draw and how to colour”. 

Asked if he argued with Ms Williamson, Cole said there were occasions when they argued and said they were both loud. He talked about one occasion when he and Ms Williamson had an argument. “She was shouting in my face, I just pushed her aside and walked out of the room”. 

“Did you do a lot of shouting at the children?", Cole was asked.

“We both did, yes”. 

“Did you ever use or threaten any violence towards Angharad?"

“Never”, Cole replied firmly. 

“Do you know anything about an incident where Logan fell down the stairs?” 

“Yes. We heard Logan fall down the stairs. Angharad tried to put his arm back into place."

Cole said there had been no one else upstairs in the house at the time. 

Cole was also asked about a burn found on Logan’s neck.

“Logan was being boisterous”, Cole said.

“Angharad pulled a teaspoon out of her coffee and put it on Logan’s neck.

“We put ice on it and then they reported it to the social worker saying Logan had been burnt by a tap.”

“So you went along with that?”, Mr Elias asked.

“Unfortunately, yes”. 

He said on two occasions, Angharad had reacted to Logan saying something about her relationship with his biological dad. “She grabbed him and said stop f****** lying, and she shook him”, Cole told the court. 

Moving onto the subject of his convictions, Cole said he had given a copy of his previous offences to Miss Williamson “so that she knew who I used to be”.

The court then took a short break.

The trial continues.