Murdered Barrow baby's social workers saw no sign of harm

Social workers handling the adoption of a baby boy who was murdered by his prospective new mum saw no evidence she was hurting him, an inquest has heard.

Leiland-James Corkill was fatally shaken by Laura Castle at their home in Barrow-in-Furness on 6 January 2021.

Cumbria County Council workers said they would not support the adoption as Castle told them she did not love the boy, coroner Dr Nicholas Shaw heard.

Leiland-James' birth mother told the inquest Castle was a "monster".

Castle was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years after being found guilty of murdering the 13-month-old, while her husband Scott Castle was cleared of causing or allowing Leiland-James' death.

The inquest at Cumbria House heard the boy was taken into care by the then-Cumbria County Council two days after being born at West Cumberland Hospital in Whitehaven in December 2019.

Dr Shaw said he would not look at the reasons for that decision, but in a statement read to the inquest Leiland-James' birth-mother Laura Corkill said it was due to the "possibility of future emotional harm" as she was rebuilding her life after being a victim of domestic violence.

Ms Corkill said Leiland-James was her "blue-eyed baby boy", had an "infectious" laugh and a smile which "made even the darkest days bright".

She said he loved "kisses and snuggles" and was "precious" and "innocent".

She said Leiland-James' first breath was greeted with love, his last inflicted with evil.

Ms Corkill said Castle was a "monster" who should "rot in hell" and "suffer for eternity".

Leiland-James was initially placed with a foster carer, Charlotte Day, who said he was a "beautiful, happy, contented little boy" who "did not cry much" and "loved being cuddled and carried".

Ms Day said she first met the Castles in July 2020, with the handover taking place on 22 August after a week of meetings and learning routines.

She said she "observed nothing which caused us any concern" and Leiland-James had "taken" to the Castles "really well".

Ms Day said: "We thought this was the perfect match with [Leiland-James] being happy throughout the process and afterwards."

Ms Day said she did not see Leiland-James again but Castle would text her updates, including that he appeared to be "unsettled".

Social worker team manager Jane Gray said staff had numerous meetings with the Castles in the run up to the baby being placed with them and "no concerns" were raised, with reviews and subsequent visits also taking place.

Ms Gray said Castle reported she had difficulty soothing Leiland-James and he was unsettled, but this was "not unusual", and there were "no indications Leiland-James had been or would be physically harmed".

During a visit on 4 November, Castle told social worker Beth Taylor she was "worried she did not feel she loved Leiland-James".

The assigned social worker Julie Gray told the inquest she thought it was a "positive thing" that the Castles were "being honest about attachment difficulties".

However, because of the issues, Jane Gray said the council would not have supported the Castles if they made an adoption application, but support was to be offered to them with a further review scheduled.

Dr Shaw said the police investigation found messages the couple exchanged with each other in September in which Castle told her husband Leiland-James was an "absolute moaning whinge bag", but she needed to "stop smacking him because if I start it wont stop".

He added it was "quite distressing" to see what was really happening to Leiland-James, adding "social workers and the council were not aware of what was actually going on inside the house".

An independent review made a number of recommendations as a result of Leiland-James' death to Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness councils, the two authorities which replaced Cumbria County Council.

Dr Shaw asked if systems in place now would be "more likely to pick up" lies told by prospective parents and if decision makers could be "hoodwinked" in the future.

Martin Birch, director of children and families at Cumberland Council, said there was better information sharing between agencies, and the adoption process had been "tightened up" to be "much more rigorous" with more questions being asked.

"All of the lessons learned have been put into practice and it's a much more robust process now," Mr Birch said.

Pathologists said Leiland-James suffered a "serious and severe traumatic head injury" caused by a "considerable" and "forceful shaking with or without impact", which led to a "catastrophic collapse" from which he died 34 hours later.

Dr Alison Armour said he showed signs of being abused on the day he died, including "slapping, gripping, pinching, prodding and poking".

She said Castle's claim he injured himself in a "low-level fall" from a sofa was "inconsistent" with his injuries.

The inquest continues.

Follow BBC Cumbria on Facebook, external, X (formerly Twitter), , externaland Instagram, external. Send your story ideas to northeastandcumbria@bbc.co.uk, external.