The mother of a British tot found dead in 2021 shared a heartbreaking video of her 2-year-old son during happier times before he was fatally beaten by his stepmother, who was convicted Wednesday for his death.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Leila Borrington was convicted of manslaughter at the Nottingham Crown Court, but acquitted on murder charges. Borrington, the prosecution said, abused her stepson, Harvey Borrington, who was non-verbal and autistic and couldn’t tell his biological mother that Borrington had been abusing him.
The jury heard from prosecutors how Borrington hit the victim over the head several times while babysitting him. She then recorded the victim as he lay on his right side, whimpering.
Instead of calling for medical help, Borrington called the child’s father at work, sent him the video, and texted, “Why does this happen to me?”
Borrington then called 999 and claimed Harvey “fell backward” from a chair, but medical expert testimony indicated that he died from “direct blunt force trauma,” caused by a repeated attack.
An autopsy indicated that the victim had a fractured skull and brain bleeding.
“She made no real attempt to assist Harvey,” the prosecution said.
Videos found on the defendant’s phone showed her lifting the child’s left arm while he lay on his side, then dropping his arm. She then continued filming him while he was unresponsive on the living room floor.
Paramedics rushed the child to King’s Mill Hospital in Mansfield; he was later transferred to Nottingham’s Queen’s Medical Centre, where he passed away.
After Borrington’s conviction, Harvey’s mother, Katie Holroyd, released a video of the tot giggling and smiling, DailyMail reports.
During Borrington’s trial earlier this week, Holroyd told the court that she couldn’t “bear to think of him lying on that floor with him dying and her filming him, delaying getting medical help for him.”
“We will always treasure the short time we had to spend with him,” she added. “She [Borrington] knew what she had done to him and she could have said so from the start.”
In the months leading to his death, Borrington attacked the toddler on at least two other occasions, the court heard, according to Sky News. The attacks left him with a broken arm and face injuries.
“You were 21 when the first offence was committed and 22 when you assaulted and killed Harvey,” appointed judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, told Borrington prior to sentencing. “During the trial we saw video footage of Harvey playing with his toys and placing items into the dishwasher.”
“Within less than 30 minutes, further video footage showed Harvey unconscious on the living room floor…Precisely what happened to Harvey only you know.”
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[Feature Photo: Harvey Borrington/Facebook]
