'Murdered' baby boy's eyes so badly swollen he looked like a panda, court hears
A baby boy's eyes were so badly swollen he looked like a "panda" and he suffered "sadistic" injuries to his genitals, a murder trial has heard.
Jacob Lennon, aged 15 months, died after he was rushed to hospital from the family home in Putney, southwest London with serious head injuries in August 2019.
A post-mortem examination found injuries consistent with horrendous long-term abuse.
Jake Drummond, 33, and Louise Lennon, 32, both face charges following Jacob's death at the Old Bailey.
Drummond denies murdering Jacob and a further charge of wounding the baby with intent in relation to earlier injuries, which include one caused to the genitals with a sharp object.
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Lennon, the child's mother, denies causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a child.
Sally O'Neill, prosecuting, told the court: "It is the Crown's case that Jake Drummond had embarked on a campaign of deliberately assaulting and hurting Jacob between July and the end of August. The injuries which he caused were obvious and noticeable.
"Lucy Lennon tried to explain them away by fabricating accidental causes for them or blaming (another person) when it must have been apparent to her that it was Jake Drummond who was causing them."
Lennon denies causing or allowing the death of a child and child crueltyThe medical team described many external injuries to Jacob and a total of 34 different marks across his body.
"His eyes were so swollen they were unable to open them. Beneath his eyes was so darkly bruised, it looked like a panda," the prosecutor said.
"His testicles were also swollen and he suffered an injury to the penis 'consistent with application of blunt force such as through extreme pinching or possibly through biting'.
"The injury to the scrotum was a penetrating injury as a result of penetration by a semi-sharp or sharp object such as a small-bladed weapon including a skewer or similar in preceding days.
"The injury to Jacob's penis and scrotum in particular caused by a sharp implement was sadistic in its cruelty and must have caused great pain to Jacob. The accounts provided by the defendants were of finding Jacob lying on the floor having apparently fallen out of his cot just before they phoned 999.
"Louise Lennon also gave an account of Jacob having fallen over in the street about five days before and hitting the front of his head which had caused some bruising to his forehead and under his eyes. Neither explanation was accepted as beginning to account for the severity of the injuries which were seen."
Jake Drummond denies murdering JacobOn 20 August 2019, a week before Jacob's death, Lennon texted Drummond: "Jacob looks like a lil mad man still lol sure hell be OK by Friday."
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Drummond replied: "Fingers crossed."
Analysis of Jacob's blood after his death showed that he had been exposed to both cocaine and cannabis either by direct contact or passive inhalation.
"One of the major problems appears to have been that Jacob used to sleep with Louise Lennon in her bed and it appears that Jake Drummond resented that," said Ms O'Neill.
"The content of some of the texts is very concerning such as texts between them about Jacob including a reference to putting him in the 'torture chamber' and Louise Lennon referring to Jacob as looking like a little madman because of his bruises."
Ms O'Neill said Lennon must have seen blood in Jacob's nappy in the days leading up to his death.
She said: "This is one of the most significant of the earlier injuries. It was incapable of an 'innocent' explanation and is a very telling example of the priorities in Louise Lennon's life during that month.
"She was more concerned with maintaining her relationship with Jake Drummond than protecting her young son from him despite it becoming obvious to her that Jake didn't like Jacob and Jacob's ever increasing and unexplained injuries."
Lennon requested an ambulance for her baby son just after 6am on August 26, 2019, telling emergency operators that her son was being sick and was not breathing.
Ms O'Neill said: "She said he must have hit his head or something and his lips were turning blue. She added that he wasn't conscious and that her 'friend had obviously just gone in, heard a big bump like he fell out of bed or something'. She said that he had been like this for five or ten minutes."
Paramedics found Jacob looking very pale, lifeless, not breathing and in cardiac arrest.
"When he arrived at the hospital, it was obvious to the paediatric team who were in the emergency paediatric department that Jacob had sustained serious head injuries which were obvious from huge facial swelling and bruising," Ms O'Neill said.
"He was obviously extremely unwell and all efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. At 7.22am, Jacob was pronounced dead. He was just short of 16 months old.
"The catalogue of recent injuries which were identified after Jacob's death demonstrated a series of continuing unlawful assaults on him which must have been both painful to Jacob and obvious to his mother who had the full-time care of him.
"Louise Lennon's lack of concern for Jacob is dramatically evidenced by her response to one of the most unpleasant and no doubt painful injuries which was inflicted on Jacob - the deep laceration to the underside of his penis and a puncture wound to his scrotum."
She claimed Jacob was injured with a plastic Mr Potato Head knife in the bath.
"Her comment to the police that "it looked like a little scratch" was palpably untrue as was blaming (another person) for causing this injury," the prosecutor added.
Drummond, of no fixed address, denies murder and causing him grievous bodily harm with intent. Lennon, of Ingrave Street, Wandsworth, denied causing or allowing the death of a child and child cruelty.
The trial continues.
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