Leiland-James Corkill: Couple 'struggled to bond with baby'

A couple accused over the death of a baby they were trying to adopt struggled to bond with him, the prospective father has said.

Leiland-James Corkill died at 13 months on 7 January 2021, a day after having brain injuries at the home of Laura and Scott Castle in Barrow, Cumbria.

Mrs Castle admits manslaughter but denies murder.

Mr Castle, who is charged with allowing Leiland-James' death, told Preston Crown Court the boy cried a lot.

The court has heard Leiland-James moved into their home in August 2020 with a view to them adopting him under the watch of Cumbria County Council's social services team.

He said it "wasn't great at the start" because Leiland-James was struggling to settle and they "felt like we weren't bonding with him", adding he had seemed happier when they visited him at his foster carer's home.

Answering questions from his lawyer Simon Kealey QC, Mr Castle said: "He was a different boy from the one we bought home. I just felt like we weren't fully bonding, we couldn't get any laughs out of him."

He said Leiland-James would be "moaning or sometimes crying" and would wake up every few hours during the night, and he would also have issues eating.

"I know it sounds silly but I didn't think he liked us or me," Mr Castle said.

But he said there were good days where the Castles would "get giggles" and "cuddles" from Leiland-James and it felt "worth it".

He said they had discussed ending the adoption process but they "honestly didn't think we could just hand him back".

Mr Castle said he knew his wife, who said she fatally shook Leiland-James to stop him crying, would use physical discipline such as a smack on the hand or backside but he had "no concerns" about it.

Mr Castle said he too would give a single slap up to a few times a week, for example hitting Leiland-James' hand to stop him putting a toy xylophone stick in his mouth and hitting his bottom to stop the baby from tugging on door blinds.

He said Leiland-James would not cry but clearly did not like being struck as his "bottom lip came out".

He said social workers knew he was being called just James and he did not think he and Mrs Castle were doing anything seriously wrong as "lots of people get called by their middle name".

Mr Kealey asked Mr Castle if he had had any concerns about seeing marks or bruises caused by Mrs Castle, to which he replied: "No. I know in my heart she's not [the] type of woman to hurt children."

He also said he would "stand up" to his wife if he disagreed with something she was doing, for example shouting.

Mr Kealey read a series of text messages which Mrs Castle sent to her husband in which she said she had "absolutely leathered" Leiland-James and she thought one day she might not be able to stop hitting him.

In his replies, Mr Castle said his wife was "amazing" and blamed Leiland-James for their struggles.

Mr Kealey asked him if he had any real concerns for Leiland-James based on the messages, to which he replied: "No. I just thought they were frustrated text messages and she was overtired.

Mr Castle said: "She was venting. I trusted her because she's my wife of 14 years and I know she'd never hurt [Leiland-James]. It was just a tired text message."

He also said he knew his wife was prone to "over-exaggerating" and he never saw any marks on Leiland-James when he bathed him every night and changed his nappies.

Mr Castle also admitted using derogatory words to describe Leiland-James in text messages to his wife but he "absolutely did not" mean with it any malice, adding he was "ashamed" of some of the phrases he used.

Mrs Castle has told the court she was aware the social services team was against smacking and wanted parents to use a "therapeutic" approach but she said that did not always work.

Mr Castle said social workers were aware - and unhappy - the Castles were calling the baby "James", dropping "Leiland" from his name.

However, Mr Castle told the court the couple did not think they were doing anything seriously wrong as "lots of people get called by their middle name" and they did not want his birth mother to be able to trace him using his more unusual first name.

He said the council wanted the baby to be called Leiland-James as he had been named by his birth mother.

Mr Castle said he returned from an overnight shift shortly after 06:00 GMT on 6 January and went to bed.

He was awoken shortly after 08:00 by Mrs Castle telling him Leiland-James had fallen from the sofa and hit his head.

Mr Kealey asked him when he found out Mrs Castle's account was untrue, to which he replied when she gave evidence in the trial.

When asked how he felt hearing Mrs Castle admit killing Leiland-James, Mr Castle started crying as he replied: "I was heartbroken and devastated."

Mrs Castle also began weeping loudly when he said: "She's the love of my life and I didn't ever think she would lie to me."

He said Leiland-James was part of the family's long-term plan and he was looking forward to taking him to school and teaching him to play football.

The couple also both deny two child cruelty charges.

The trial continues.

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