Blackpool man who killed his two year old son is jailed for life
Daniel Hardcastle, 31, must serve at least 22 years before being considered for release
A Blackpool man has been sentenced to life in prison, for the murder of his two-year-old son.
Daniel Hardcastle, 31, must serve at least 22 years, before he is considered for released.
He killed Damion Russell in a brutal and sustained assault at their home in Central Drive, in August last year.
Hardcastle claimed the youngster had injured himself after falling and hitting his head on a coffee table.
But a pathologist found the extensive injuries suffered by the little boy were inconsistent with that claim.
He determined Hardcastle had inflicted very severe injury to Damion by either forcefully shaking him and then banging his head against a solid object, such as a coffee table, or caused Damion’s head to come into contact with a solid object with such force that it caused Damion’s head to move backwards and forwards rapidly enough to cause the injuries to his neck and eyes.
Damion was taken to hospital following the assault, but his injuries were unsurvivable and he sadly died two days later.
Hardcastle was found guilty of murder after a four-week trial at Preston Crown Court.
The jury were told Hardcastle, who had sole care of his son, had started drinking more in the days and weeks before the assault. He had isolated himself from his support network and the two nights immediately before he assaulted Damion and caused the injuries which killed him, he spent all night chatting to a woman he had met online.
In a victim impact statement Damion's Grandmother Linda Hardcastle said "He loved to play, and loved being outside in the fresh air. He was my only grandchild. He made me happy, he made me proud. Now I am sad and heartbroken. I loved Damion so much. I always will."
Meanwhile, in another statement, his foster carer said "He was with us for 10 happy months, and will forever remember the positive way he impacted our lives. Damion was just the cutest little man, I will always remember his big eyes and wide smile. I can not emphasise enough what a delightful bundle of job Damion was. He was so laidback, always be happy to toddle, and just lovely to be around. Words will never do his memory justice.
Det Supt Al Davies, of the Force Major Investigation Team, said: “First and foremost my thoughts today are with Damion’s loved ones. Like any young child Damion had the right to be loved and cherished by the man who should have done everything he could to protect him. Instead, he found himself subjected to a horrifically violent and sustained assault which caused the injuries which sadly led to his death.
“Only Daniel Hardcastle can say exactly what happened on that fateful day or why he did what he did, but this was no childhood accident that ended in tragedy. The nature and extent of the fatal injuries, deliberately inflicted by Hardcastle were done with intent to cause at least really serious harm and were the direct cause of Damion’s tragic death.” Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.