Mother did nothing to protect toddler from killer stepfather, court told

Andrew Cawker was repeatedly attacked by Tamika Beaton’s partner, Scott Coombe, in the months before his death on July 22 2019, a jury has heard.

Andrew Cawker (Metropolitan Police/PA)

A mother whose son was killed by her boyfriend did “nothing to protect him” and tried to blame the toddler’s father for some of his injuries, a court has heard.

Tamika Beaton, 25, put “her own interests” before those of 18-month-old Andrew Cawker, with “catastrophic” consequences, the Old Bailey was told on Tuesday.

Andrew was repeatedly attacked by Beaton’s partner, 24-year-old postman Scott Coombe, in the months before his death on July 22 2019, jurors heard.

His mother had allegedly been cheating on her son’s father, 31-year-old Ben Cawker, with Coombe, whom she met at a fitness class while trying to lose weight after the birth.

She had eventually confirmed her relationship with Coombe by December 2018 and by March the following year Andrew began to show “regular bruising”, the court was told.

The toddler never regained consciousness after hitting his head on the floor while being vigorously shaken and thrown when Coombe become “irritated” with caring for him on July 9 2019, prosecutors say.

He became irritated with him and picked him up by grabbing his upper arms and, in a moment of anger and frustration, shook him vigorously backwards and forwards briefly and then threw him backwards

Prosecutor Sally O'Neill KC

Coombe has admitted manslaughter, child cruelty and assaulting the toddler on three occasions.

Beaton denies willfully ill-treating or neglecting Andrew in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or cause injury to his health.

She is not accused of hurting him herself but of failing to protect him from her boyfriend.

Coombe called 999 after attacking the toddler on July 9 2019 and claimed the youngster started “looking a bit stiff” and collapsed while playing, the court heard.

Andrew was taken to hospital but his injuries were so severe that he never woke up.

Opening the case against Beaton, prosecutor Sally O’Neill KC said: “On July 9 2019, a 999 call was made to the emergency services by a man called Scott Coombe.

“Scott Coombe was at that stage in a relationship with the defendant, Tamika Beaton and was looking after her (child), Andrew Cawker, aged 18 months.

“He told the emergency operator ‘It’s my one-and-a-half-year-old stepson. He was just playing, then he started looking a bit stiff and then he collapsed in front of me and he’s not woken up for 10 to 15 minutes’.

“This was a lie. Scott Coombe has pleaded guilty to manslaughter, which is unlawfully killing Andrew.

In short, it amounts to this: it was apparent to Tamika Beaton that Andrew was receiving unexplained injuries whilst in Scott Coombe's care

Prosecutor Sally O'Neill KC

“He has done so on the basis that he became irritated with him and picked him up by grabbing his upper arms and, in a moment of anger and frustration, shook him vigorously backwards and forwards briefly and then threw him backwards.

“Andrew’s shoulder area hit the floor and his head fell back and bounced as it hit the floor.

“Andrew immediately became unconscious and Scott Coombe tried to revive him, was unable to do so, which was when he called 999.”

Ms O’Neill added: “As far as this case is concerned… in short, it amounts to this: it was apparent to Tamika Beaton that Andrew was receiving unexplained injuries whilst in Scott Coombe’s care.

“She and Andrew’s father, Ben Cawker, who saw him regularly, took photos of the injuries and even on one occasion took him to the doctors for his blood to be tested in case he was prone to easy bruising. He wasn’t.

“His bruises were as a result of being assaulted by Scott Coombe and it must have been obvious to Tamika Beaton that it was Scott Coombe who was doing it.

“Not only did she do nothing to protect Andrew from being injured by Scott Coombe, she tried to cover up the injuries by blaming Ben Cawker, his father, for causing them.”

She was putting her own interests before those of Andrew - with the most catastrophic consequences for Andrew

Prosecutor Sally O'Neill KC

Jurors were told that Beaton had tried to cover up the abuse by claiming Andrew got “large bruises” when he knocked himself.

When questioned by Mr Cawker, she allegedly attempted to explain away scratches on the toddler’s nose by saying he had sharp nails and had caused them himself.

On April 10 2019, Andrew’s father became “very concerned” when Beaton sent him a photo of injuries to the toddler’s ribs, the court heard.

But when he phoned her, she insisted it must have happened when Andrew was with him and said she had been advised “by someone” not to let her son stay with him until the bruising had cleared.

Despite knowing Coombe was responsible, she continued to suggest the injuries were a result of the father not supervising Andrew properly, the court heard.

“She was putting her own interests before those of Andrew – with the most catastrophic consequences for Andrew,” Ms O’Neill said.

“On (July 9 2019), she had gone to a dance class, leaving Scott Coombe in charge of (Andrew), knowing that he had done a full day’s work as a postman.

“He was willing to look after (Andrew) but the risks of allowing him to do so must have been obvious to Tamika Beaton and she chose to disregard them as she had done on a number of previous occasions.”

Andrew had been due to start nursery, but Beaton did not take him because of the questions staff might raise about his bruises, the prosecutor said.

Photographs taken of Andrew before he died showed the toddler looking miserable, jurors heard.

“Andrew was too young to protect himself from that sort of assault, but you only have to look at the expression on his face in some of those photographs to see how unhappy he was,” Ms O’Neill said.

Giving evidence, his father told the court that he had initially tried to “save the relationship” with Beaton before realising it “couldn’t go any further.”

“By this time, we’d been together for six years, seven years going on, and we’d built a life together and I didn’t want to throw that away without trying to fix it or without trying to fight for it,” Mr Cawker said from the witness box.

The father said he had not suspected anything “sinister” when he first noticed Andrew’s bruises because he thought they were sustained while he was playing and running around.

“Did it ever cross your mind that somebody had been deliberately hurting Andrew?” Ms O’Neill asked.

“It did but I didn’t want to think it,” Mr Cawker replied.

Beaton, from Peckham, south-east London, sat in the dock dressed in black throughout the hearing.

The trial continues on Wednesday.