Killer stepfather’s bizarre WhatsApp rant about hierarchy of household after baby’s murder

Jacob Crouch was found dead in his cot at his Derbyshire home in December 2020 following a ‘vicious’ assault

A killer stepfather’s bizarre WhatsApp rant about the hierarchy of the household has been revealed after he was found guilty of murdering his partner’s 10-month-old son.

Jacob Crouch was found dead in his cot at his Derbyshire home on the morning of 30 December, 2020 and was later discovered to have 39 rib fractures, 19 visible bruises and several internal injuries following a “vicious” assault.

A jury at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday found his stepfather Craig Crouch, 39, guilty of murder and three counts of child cruelty.

A jury at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday found his stepfather Craig Crouch, 39, guilty of murder and three counts of child cruelty (Derbyshire Police)

Crouch can be heard explaining his views about how “there is always a hierarchy”, including within the family, in an audio message he sent to Barton, before pivoting to a lighter tone to sign off.

In the recording released by Derbyshire Police, he said: “As human beings, we tend to follow a hierarchy. What this means is there always has to be a leader, in everything that we do.

“Look at workplace business. You would never have two managers, or two directors, or two team leaders over the same amount of people, over the same department, earning the same money. You just wouldn’t have it, you have a chain of command.

“For example, there is nobody here in exactly the same job that I have over the same people, over the same departments. I answer for everyone, everyone below me answers to me. If they f*** up, I get my a*** kicked, and then it goes down the chain of command.

Jacob Crouch died from peritonitis – an infection of the lining of the abdominal organs – caused by traumatic bowel perforation (PA Media)

“This also has to stand at home - there is always a hierarchy,” he continued. “Anyway, I should be finished soon, and I love you to bits. I can’t wait to see you [kiss noises].”

At the trial, Prosecutor Mary Prior KC said that Jacob died at his home in Foxley Chase, Linton, near Swadlincote, following a “vicious assault”, which saw him “kicked or stamped on with such severe force that it fractured a rib and caused a tear in his stomach and bowel”.

It was the culmination of regular abuse within a “culture of cruelty”, which included making the 10-month-old eat his own vomit, she said.

The boy’s mother Gemma Barton, 33, was cleared of murder, an alternative charge of manslaughter, and two counts of child cruelty, but was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and a third count of child cruelty (Derbyshire Police)

The baby died from peritonitis – an infection of the lining of the abdominal organs – caused by traumatic bowel perforation.

Following the convictions, Andrew Baxter, deputy chief crown prosecutor at the Crown Prosecution Service East Midlands, spoke of Crouch’s “inexplicable desire for discipline, saying: “Jacob’s short life was one of pain and suffering, all the result of these defendants’ intolerance of his basic needs and Craig Crouch’s inexplicable desire for discipline.”

Opening the case in June, Mrs Prior said: “Neither sought medical help for Jacob at any stage for the pain and suffering caused when his bones were broken or in the few days that followed.”

Dr Sarah Dixon, a consultant paediatrician, told the court Jacob suffered “repeated physical abuse” in the weeks, days and hours prior to his death and that it was “not remotely” possible that the injuries could have been self-inflicted.

Jacob Crouch was found dead in his cot at his Derbyshire home on the morning of 30 December, 2020 and was later discovered to have 39 rib fractures, 19 visible bruises and several internal injuries (Derbyshire Police/PA Wire)

They included a traumatic bowel perforation which led to a fatal infection, which forensic pathologist Dr Michael Biggs said could only have been sustained through blunt force trauma such as a punch, kick or stamp.

He also said that he would expect to see such injuries in car crash victims or those who had suffered a multi-storey fall.

Giving evidence, Crouch, a forklift driver at JCB, had said that Jacob’s injuries had “nothing to do with me”, stating that he “didn’t see anything” and “didn’t see anyone do anything to hurt” his stepson. He claimed he “loves children” and that he had supported Jacob “from the start”.

Barton, 33, also denied ever harming her son, and when asked who could have inflicted the injuries said: “It was not me so that leaves Craig.”

She claimed her son was her “bundle of joy” and said it felt like her “whole world had just ended” when she was awoken by Crouch screaming that Jacob was dead.

Barton, of Ray Street, Heanor, Derbyshire, and Crouch, of Donisthorpe Lane, Moira, Swadlincote, will be sentenced at the same court on Friday.