Jury to retire in baby death trial
A JURY who is to decide next week if an Ipswich father murdered his baby son has been warned against evidence given by the child's lying mother.
A JURY who is to decide next week if an Ipswich father murdered his baby son has been warned against evidence given by the child's lying mother.
The Ipswich Crown Court jury was reminded of Samantha Askew's evidence by defence lawyer Malcolm Alastair during his closing speech in the trial of Duncan Mills.
Mills, 32, of London Road, Ipswich has denied killing four-week-old Luigi Askew and to assaulting Miss Askew, 23, causing her grievous bodily harm at her Lanercost Way home on May 26 last year.
Mr Alastair said: “We know that at the outset she (Miss Askew) persistently lied to the neighbours, the paramedics, the doctors and to the police and she kept these lies up for some time.”
During the trial the jury heard that on May 26 Miss Askew said two men dressed in balaclavas broke into her home, beat her up and attacked baby Luigi causing the head and stomach injuries which killed him.
Mr Alastair added: “The prosecution says she lied because she was terrified but for whatever reason she lied and persistently lied.”
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He said Mills, who admitted domestic violence, only lied once and that was when police arrested him at London Road for causing Miss Askew actual bodily harm before the seriousness of the situation unfolded.
Police asked him where he had been on the morning of May 26 and he said at his address.
He said Mills told the truth three days later that he was at Lanercost Way and had stuck to his story ever since.
The prosecution claims Mills attacked Miss Askew and then turned on his son because he kept crying.
Mills claims he pushed Miss Askew during a heated row and she fell on Luigi causing his injuries.
Mr Alastair said Miss Askew's story had grown as time went on and she had told the jury evidence she had never told the police.
He said: “She said to you 'he kept smacking me in the face with it (knuckle dusters), he hit me in the face with this, more than once but not more than five times'.
“She then said he used the weapon all over her body. She said 'It was the object he used most on me'.
“This was not mentioned before at any stage until she gave evidence in court.”
Judge John Devaux was expected to sum up the case to the jury on Monday before they retired to deliberate on their verdicts.
