Logan Mwangi: Mother proud of prison notoriety, jury told

A woman accused of murdering her five-year-old son was proud of her notoriety in prison for being the "mother of the Bridgend baby", a court has heard.

The body of Logan Mwangi was found in the River Ogmore in Sarn, Bridgend, last July with 56 external injuries and severe internal damage.

At Cardiff Crown Court his mother Angharad Williamson, stepfather John Cole and a 14-year-old boy deny murder.

A woman in prison with her said she had "a weird kind of attention seeking".

Joanne Brooks was in Eastwood Park prison in Gloucestershire at the same time as Ms Williamson.

She said the 31-year-old introduced herself by saying "Have you heard of the Bridgend baby - the boy that was murdered and thrown in the river? Well, I'm his mother".

Asked by prosecutor Caroline Rees QC what her demeanour was, she replied it was "like she was telling me what she just bought at the shops".

When she showed her pictures of Logan, there were "still no emotions," the jury heard.

"If you're showing someone a picture of your child that has just died, you'd have emotion and there was none," said Ms Brooks.

"It was a weird kind of attention seeking. She was proud of the notoriety that came with being the Bridgend baby's mum."

The court heard earlier how the five-year-old's injuries were consistent with abuse.

He would have had an 80% chance of survival if he had been taken to hospital, the court heard.

Paediatrician Dr Deborah Stalker told the jury that mortality rates for children with similar injuries to their bowel and liver were around 20%.

If Logan had been promptly taken to hospital, she added, he "could have survived" following effective and prompt treatment.

She told the court that the tear to Logan's liver was "really quite rare in accidental injury but is far more common in abusive injury".

She said it could have been caused by the liver pressing onto the spine due to some kind of blunt force which could have been "thumps, kicks or stamps on the abdomen".

Evidence had to be paused for half an hour after a juror became upset hearing details of the impact of Logan's injuries. 

Dr Stalker also explained that Logan would have lost at least 20% of his blood from his injuries which would have caused "hemorrhagic shock", causing Logan's feet hands and feet to become "ice cold" and generally to turn pale.  

She described it as a "dangerous situation" and said it would be "obvious that a child was very unwell".

She said all of Logan's injuries, including the extensive bruising, would have been "very painful", with similar abdominal injuries in children typically treated with morphine.  

The court heard that bruising to the eye area was unusual in accidental injury with Logan having areas of bruising to both eyes, including a 6.5cm-wide area of bruising around his left eye.

Commenting on this, Dr Salter said: "It's really quite extensive - the explanation given that a toy bounced off his eye is inadequate to explain the extent of the bruising."

All three defendants are also accused of perverting the course of justice.

Angharad Williamson, 31, and the youth have pleaded not guilty to perverting the course of justice, while John Cole, 40, admits this charge.

The trial continues.