Stepmother who filmed dying stepson gets jailed for 15 years

Leila Borrington, a 23-year-old woman from Nottinghamshire, has been sentenced to 15 years in jail for the manslaughter, assault, and causing grievous bodily harm to her three-year-old stepson, Harvey Borrington. Harvey had severe non-verbal autism. In August 2021, the child died, two days after the paramedics were called to the home of Borrington. They had found him "unresponsive", "deeply unconscious" and with "abnormal body posture".

The court heard that Borrington had attacked Harvey twice before his death, leaving him with a broken arm and marks on his face. On the day Harvey died, Borrington filmed him on her mobile phone as he lay dying from a brain injury. She had inflicted "unsurvivable" injuries, including a skull fracture, on Harvey and lied about what had happened to him when paramedics arrived at her home in Jacksdale, near Kirkby-in-Ashfield in Nottinghamshire in August 2021.

During sentencing, the judge criticized Borrington's "sustained violent assault" on Harvey and her "shocking lack of care and concern" for the child. He also noted that she had a "history" of using violence and that she had responded inadequately after breaking Harvey's arm in April 2021.

Borrington was found guilty of unlawful killing, wounding and assault in February 2023 after a trial at Nottingham Crown Court. The judge cleared her of murder.

Before the sentencing, Harvey's mother, Katie Holroyd, read a victim statement to the court, in which she described her son as "the most loving little boy anyone could have wished for". She said that she could not bear to think of him lying on the floor dying with Borrington filming him and delaying getting medical help.

Prosecutor Jonas Hankin KC claimed that Borrington had targeted Harvey because he was unable to articulate when he was in pain. The judge told Borrington that only she knew what had happened to Harvey on the day he died.

Harvey's death has been described as a "recurring nightmare" by his mother, who said that she would always treasure the short time she had to spend with him.

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Central England’s Midlands region

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74.61 square km