Nottingham woman convicted of killing step son
Harvey Borrington died of injuries to his head in August 2021.
Last updated 6th Mar 2023
A 23 year old Nottingham woman has been found guilty of killing her three year old step son, but has been acquitted of his murder.
Leila Borrington was also convicted of separate charges of assaulting and causing grievous bodily harm to Harvey Borrington.
A Nottingham Crown Court jury, which deliberated for more than 24 hours, cleared Borrington of murder on Tuesday (28th JAN) after concluding that she had not intended to kill or cause really serious injury.
The toddler was found with fatal head injuries in Main Road, Jacksdale, on August 7th 2021.
He was taken to hospital, but died later that day.
When the trial opened in November 2022, Borrington was accused of "Twisting and Turning" to suit the evidence.
One expert witness believed the boy's injuries were a result of inflicted blunt force trauma.
But the 23 year old denied assaulting Harvey and said the head injuries were caused by him falling backwards off a sofa at their home, which she claimed was “the only thing that could have happened”.
She said Harvey, who was non-verbal autistic and would communicate through a series of screams, hand gestures and a handful of words, did not always communicate that he was in pain, meaning injuries often went unnoticed.
Before the jury retired, the judge said: "Let me make something very clear: you are under no time pressure.
"You can take as much time as you need. There are a number of issues that you have to consider and a great deal of evidence."
Borrington will be sentenced on March 16th.