Leiland-James Corkill murder-accused was 'at end of rope'

Leiland-James Corkill died on 7 January 2021 at the Barrow home of Laura and Scott Castle

A woman said she was at the "end of her rope" when she fatally shook a crying baby she was trying to adopt.

Leiland-James Corkill died on 7 January 2021, a day after suffering brain injuries at the home of Laura and Scott Castle in Barrow, Cumbria.

Mrs Castle admits manslaughter but denies murder.

She told Preston Crown Court she would have convicted herself of murder based on the prosecution's case but she asked jurors to "please look at everything".

The 38-year-old said she became "frustrated" when Leiland-James, who was 13 months old, would not eat his breakfast cereal and he pushed her away when she tried to wipe his face.

She wept as she told jurors the baby was crying and she was "so tired and drained and overwhelmed", adding: "There was just so much noise."

Under cross-examination from prosecutor Michael Brady QC, Mrs Castle denied she had been angry and lost her temper but said she was at her "wits' end".

Laura and Scott Castle are on trial at Preston Crown Court

Mr Brady said feeling tired and frustrated were "standard issues for parenting a young child" and asked her why she acted so violently, to which Mrs Castle replied: "I was just at the end of my rope."

Mr Brady asked her why she did not just walk away, to which Mrs Castle tearfully replied: "I truly think about that every second of the day and regret what I've done and I have to pay the consequence for that."

She said she was "trying to give my boy justice" and denied claims she hated Leiland-James, adding: "I love him".

She cried further as Mr Brady asked her to describe and demonstrate how she had shaken Leiland-James, telling the court: "Don't make me do this, please."

She said she shook him and his head hit the arm of the sofa the pair were sitting on, then he slipped off her lap and landed facedown on the floor when she stood up.

Mrs Castle was asked if there was "plenty of help on offer" from social services, to which she said they were offered training and books to read.

"I'm not criticising that at all, I'm just saying that's what had happened," she said.

'Our child'

Mr Brady asked if there had been discussion about ending Leiland-James' placement with the Castles, which began in August 2020.

Mrs Castle said Leiland-James was "our child" and he "wasn't going anywhere".

Mr Brady raised a text message sent by Mrs Castle to her husband in September 2020 in which she says she "absolutely leathered" Leiland-James.

She told the court she meant she had hit him once on the bottom and her use of the words was just the way she talked.

Mrs Castle admitted lying to doctors, social services, police and family members about how the injuries had been caused, having claimed Leiland-James had simply fallen from the sofa.

She said she was "ashamed" and "just couldn't admit that to myself that I'd done that."

Mrs Castle said she admitted manslaughter because she was guilty, adding: "I accept my child is dead because of me."

Mrs Castle also denies a charge of child cruelty. Her 35-year-old husband denies allowing Leiland-James's death and child cruelty.

The trial continues.