Dad on trial accused of murdering his son years after suffocating him

A jury was told Alan Bird inflicted the life-changing injuries upon his two-year-old son Lewis Turner in an attack in 2001.

Leeds Crown Court heard how Bird later pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent over the assault which left Lewis with "permanent and irreparable" brain damage.

Lewis developed a "myriad of conditions" which included cerebral palsy.

The court heard his speech, hearing and sight were impaired and he had to be fed through a tube.

Richard Wright QC, prosecuting, said Lewis was found dead on July 18, 2019, at the home where he lived with his adoptive parents in Tingley.

The cause of death was given as peritonitis caused by an infection from his feeding tube.

The prosecutor explained to the jury that Bird was charged with murder following Lewis' death as there is no time limit as to how long someone remains "criminally responsible."

Mr Wright told the jury: "The death of Lewis Turner was not some freak infection that took the life of a healthy boy.

"It was instead the final consequence of a deliberate assault on Lewis by Alan Bird."

Mr Wright continued: "His feeding tube caused the infection to develop.

"He only had that feeding tube as a direct consequence of the defendant attacking him."

The court heard Bird was Lewis' natural father and he attacked his son on the night of September 29, 2001, when he was just two years old.

The attack took place at their home on Thorn Avenue, Thornhill, Dewsbury.

Paramedics found Lewis covered in bruises and "deathly pale" when they were called to the property.

He was rushed to hospital where a scan revealed he had suffered the devastating injuries as a result of his brain being starved of oxygen.

Bird later admitted to a social worker that he was responsible for causing the injuries.

Mr Wright said: "He said he had done so by holding a pillow over the child's face for a few minutes."

Bird later pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent and a further charge of child neglect.

Mr Wright continued: "It is admitted in this trial, and you can proceed on the safe footing, that this defendant caused the brain injuries and that when he did so he intended to cause really serious injury to Lewis.

"He is therefore guilty of murder, provided as you can be sure that his attack in 2001 made a more than minimal contribution to the death of Lewis."

Bird, 48, of Common Road, Batley, pleads not guilty to murder.

Mr Wright told jurors that it may be suggested during the trial that Lewis' death was a result of medical negligence.

The prosecutor said they would hear evidence from a professor of gastrointestinal surgery who conducted an independent investigation following Lewis' death and found his NHS care to be "faultless."

The trial continues.