Logan Mwangi: Mum didn't recognise injured son, court told

Logan's mum said it was normal for kids to have bumps and bruises

A woman accused of murdering her five-year-old son told police she did not recognise him in hospital because of his injuries, a court has heard.

Logan Mwangi's body was found in the River Ogmore, in Sarn, Bridgend county, last July, with 56 internal injuries.

Logan's step-father John Cole, 40, told police he had been woken by Angharad Williamson, 31, screaming that Logan was dead, Cardiff Crown Court heard.

Mr Cole, Ms Williamson and a 14-year-old all deny Logan's murder.

Police interviews with Ms Williamson at Bridgend Police Station were read to the jury and she was asked about each of the injuries Logan suffered.

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She said: "When he went to bed he had none of those injuries."

Logan was found with 56 injuries, including extensive scalp bruising over the back of his head and tears in his liver and bowel.

She said when she saw Logan in hospital she did not recognise him.

Angharad Williamson and John Cole are both charged with Logan Mwangi's murder along with a teenage boy

Police officers asked Ms Williamson if she caused Logan's injuries.

She said: "No, I didn't sir."

Ms Williamson also told officers that Mr Cole punched Logan in the stomach two days before his body was found.

Jurors heard she told police that after punching Logan, he said, "the only way this boy understands, is pain".

She said Mr Cole "was picking on Logan", adding that, after the punch, he "was laughing", and said, "that's a good one isn't it".

Jurors heard Angharad Williamson waited days before she told police about the attack in her interviews.

She said she did not mention the attack earlier because Mr Cole told her he was in the SAS and would kill her if she left him.

"This man is going to kill me for saying these things," she said in a police interview.

Logan's body was found in the River Ogmore on 31 July 2021

Ms Williamson was also asked if she knew anything about lights in her house or movement outside her house in the early hours of the morning before Logan's body was found.

She said: "I was asleep, if I was awake this wouldn't have happened, I could have saved him. If I was awake Logan would be alive."

When asked about Logan's injuries, she said he had "slight bumps and bruises, but kids do" and when she put him to bed, "none of those face marks were there when I left him".

She told officers she sent Logan to bed without any tea the night before his body was found, because he was "naughty, so we took it off him".

Earlier in the trial, the jury heard how Mr Cole told police after his arrest he had been woken by Ms Williamson screaming that Logan was dead.

He said he had tried CPR but after being unable to revive the five-year-old carried his body to the river bank.

Asked about Mr Cole's account, she said: "This story is very extravagant", adding that Logan was already gone when she woke up.

During her police interviews, she said Mr Cole had told her he had "46 convictions in the past", adding that "he killed him [Logan]".

She described Mr Cole as her "ex-partner" and said he had "lied" about her hitting Logan, ripping his pyjamas, sleeping in his room and screaming "he's dead".

She said Logan had been "the apple of my eye ever since he was born", and that he would hurt himself "to get the attention".

Ms Williamson told police Mr Cole had initially "swept me off my feet", but had since ruined her life and was "conniving, vicious and manipulative".

Mr Cole has admitted a charge of perverting the course of justice, which Ms Williamson and the 14-year-old deny.

The two adults are also charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, which they both deny.

The trial continues.