Jacob Crouch suffered a 'living hell' at stepfather's hands, say police

Jacob Crouch suffered a "horrendous" series of injuries in the months before his death

Ten-month-old Jacob Crouch was put through a "living hell" by his stepfather Craig Crouch during his short life, according to the leading detective on the case.

Crouch, 39, was told he would serve a minimum of 28 years for murder by a jury at Derby Crown Court yesterday, while Jacob's mother Gemma Barton, 33, was given a 10-year sentence for causing or allowing the death of a child.

Derbyshire Police have said the family were unknown to social services before Jacob's death.

And Craig Crouch was called an "unlikely murderer" by Mr Justice Kerr at Derby Crown Court on Friday.

• Warning: Contains details some readers may find distressing

Yet Jacob is said to have been subjected to unimaginable pain during his short life.

His ribs had been fractured 39 times in at least five separate assaults and several of them had healed.

Forensic pathologist Dr Michael Biggs, who gave evidence at the trial, said he would normally expect to see the injuries Jacob suffered on car crash victims or those fallen from several storeys.

Craig Crouch was convicted of Jacob's murder while Gemma Barton was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child

His bowel was also perforated and it is believed he was kicked or stamped on by Crouch, who was said to be "dominant and aggressive" by Judge Kerr.

Barton, in contrast, was described as "meek and submissive", yet did nothing to protect her son, even though she "either knew or should have known" of the torture Crouch had inflicted.

Det Insp Paul Bullock, who led the investigation into the killing, said: "It was just normality to inflict pain on this child. It's unimaginable how anyone could inflict that on anyone, never mind a defenceless baby.

"When there were visible bruises they would raise them to family and give an explanation. There was mention of him hitting himself with his rattle or his teething ring. Where he'd got facial bruising, they explained that he'd fallen into a chair.

"The level of violence that was needed to cause the injuries, to break a baby's rib, it's not something you could do accidentally. His life would have been lived in pain. Throughout his short little life, he was in pain more often than he wasn't.

"Any normal parent or carer would have known that Jacob was in absolute constant and excruciating pain. A living hell."

Jacob's parents met online and moved in together within weeks. Barton was already pregnant with Jacob and Crouch was then registered as the father on his birth certificate.

Crouch was also said to be a fantasist who told "incredible" lies to Barton throughout their relationship.

"He claimed to be a director at JCB, he claimed to be on a six-figure salary, where actually he was driving a forklift truck in the warehouse," Det Insp Bullock added.

Crouch even told Barton that he met Boris Johnson and was "flying around in the JCB helicopter".

She only discovered the truth after the couple were arrested.

Bizarre request

A neighbour of the couple Pete Trimble told the BBC they received a "bizarre request" from the couple in a letter after Jacob's death.

He said: "Everybody on this estate had got the same letter. It said 'because our baby has died please don't come round the house and offer any consolations or bring flowers. We just want to mourn the child alone'.

"It just seemed such a strange thing to do."

Det Insp Bullock said the police also recovered phone footage of Crouch lowering Jacob into a paddling pool in a back garden.

"You can see that Jacob is distressed and he's dunked into the pool for what I would describe as a good period of time and then brought out again," he said.

"It's quite obvious that Jacob is quite distressed and as a parent it was quite a shocking video to watch."

Det Insp Paul Bullock led the investigation into the death of Jacob Crouch

The police also recovered messages from the couple's phones which documented what they had done to Jacob and even joked about putting bleach in his bath.

Speaking after the sentencing, Det Insp Bullock said: "It is clear from the evidence found on Gemma Barton and Craig Crouch's phones, through text messages, videos and audio recordings, that they were equally responsible for the culture of cruelty inflicted on baby Jacob.

"I hope today's verdict brings with it a degree of closure for them and begins the process of them being able to grieve for Jacob and remember the happier times with a much-loved child."

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