Doncaster man guilty of killing two year old step son
It happened back in January
A Doncaster man's been found guilty of murdering his two year old step-son earlier this year.
36 year old Martin Currie killed Keigan O'Brien who died of a bleed on the brain back in January .
The toddler's mum Sarah O'Brien, 33, was cleared of murdering him, after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court lasting nearly five weeks.
But she was convicted of the alternative charge of causing or allowing the death of a child and child cruelty.
Jurors were told Keigan suffered a brain bleed in the incident, possibly from having his head hit against a wall or the floor.
Over the previous weeks, he had suffered a broken spine, broken ribs and a broken arm due to twisting.
On the morning he was fatally injured, he had been in the care of Currie at the family home, in Bosworth Road, Doncaster, while O'Brien was out of the house, the court heard.
The trial heard that Currie searched the internet for terms including "irregular breathing'', "gurgling'' and "unconscious'' two hours before seeking medical help.
The couple rang 999 at 10.55am after claiming to have found him not breathing in bed and did not explain how he came by his injuries.
Jill Brookes, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Tragically, little Keigan O'Brien's life came to an end only four days after his second birthday.
"He was killed in his own home - the place where he should have been safest from harm.
"Having heard all the evidence, the jury decided that Currie inflicted fatal injuries on the defenceless little boy and O'Brien took no steps to protect her child. They both then lied about what had happened.''
She added: "The desperately sad and shocking outcome of this case is that Keigan's life ended before it had barely begun.''
Detective Chief Inspector James Axe from South Yorkshire Police said:
“During the trial, O’Brien and Currie have showed no remorse for the death of Keigan.
“O’Brien has denied having any knowledge of how Keigan sustained his injuries, with the exception of an incident where Keigan suffered a head injury and black eyes- O’Brien stated he fell down the stairs.
“Currie stated he didn’t know how Keigan came about his injuries but told the court how he heard O’Brien assaulting Keigan previously, but had not witnessed it.
“Currie admitted to finding Keigan on the morning of 8 January at around 9am, he thought Keigan was dead.
“Keigan did not receive medical assistance for nearly two hours when O’Brien finally called Yorkshire Ambulance Service at 10:57am.
“This gave the pair sufficient time to formulate a series of lies and devise a story which was an attempt to cover the true circumstances that had unfolded."
The couple will be sentenced later this week.