Jacob Crouch: Mother accused of killing baby blames father

A mother accused of murdering her 10-month-old son has told a jury his father is the only person who could have caused him fatal injuries.

Gemma Barton and her partner Craig Crouch are accused of killing baby Jacob Crouch who died at home in Linton, Derbyshire, in December 2020.

The pair deny murder and are standing trial at Derby Crown Court.

Ms Barton, 33, told the jury, on Wednesday, she did not harm Jacob, who died with at least 39 rib fractures.

Warning: Contains details some readers may find distressing

She was asked by her barrister who could have killed Jacob and she replied: "It was not me so that leaves Craig."

The jury previously heard Jacob had been the victim of "a vicious assault" in which he was "kicked or stamped on with such severe force that it fractured a rib and caused a tear in his stomach and bowel".

He later contracted peritonitis - an infection of the lining of the abdominal organs - and died "in his cot, alone" at the family home in Foxley Chase, Linton, near Swadlincote, jurors heard.

Prosecutors said he had endured a "culture of cruelty" in the six months before he died.

However Ms Barton said she did not inflict the injuries that killed him, nor did she see them inflicted by anyone else.

Ms Barton said she "panicked" when Mr Crouch told her Jacob was dead at about 07:00 GMT on 30 December 2020.

She said: "I felt like my whole world had just ended.

"I was shocked. I could not believe that my little boy had gone.

"He was my bundle of joy. I used to call him my little shadow. Wherever I was, that is where Jacob was."

Ms Barton denied ever harming her son and said she "can't remember seeing" any of the 19 visible bruises on Jacob's body at the time of his death.

The court had heard that in June 2020, Mr Crouch - who was listed on Jacob's birth certificate as his father - told Ms Barton that she needed to be "more regimental" with the child.

In a police interview, she said she went along with his style of parenting because it was "Craig's way or no way" and she feared he would end their relationship.

Mr Crouch, 39, had said on Tuesday in his evidence that "there was nothing out of the ordinary" in the days and hours prior to Jacob's death, and that bruising - including those on his face and thighs - had "nothing to do with me".

Ms Barton, of Ray Street, Heanor, Derbyshire, and Mr Crouch, of Donisthorpe Lane, Moira, Swadlincote, deny murder, causing or allowing the death of a child, causing a child to suffer serious physical harm and three counts of child cruelty.

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