The biological mother of a baby murdered by a woman hoping to adopt him has told of the moment she found out her son had died.
Leiland-James Corkill was just 48 hours old when he was taken from his mother Laura Corkill after she gave birth to him in hospital in Whitehaven, Cumbria, in December 2019.
For the first few months of his life, Ms Corkill was able to see her son for an hour-and-a-half four times a week at a council-run contact centre.
But as the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the country in March 2020, the contact centre was closed and she was left only able to see him via video for the next three months.
Leiland-James was placed in the care of foster mother Laura Castle and her husband Scott Castle in August of that year but died the following January.
Castle was jailed for life with a minimum term of 18 years in May this year after being found guilty of his murder and child cruelty.
Her husband was cleared of causing or allowing Leiland-James’ death.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Ms Corkill described the moment she learned of her son’s death, telling the BBC: “I got a phone call on 6 January saying that Leiland was in hospital.
“(I said) ‘What happened’, they turned round and said apparently he’d had an accident and fell off the sofa and he was critical.
“I asked the person who phoned me ‘Which hospital? I want to go down to where my baby is’.
“They wouldn’t give me it until 24 hours later – and then they eventually told me it was Liverpool Alder Hey Hospital.
“By the time I got down there, he’d already been dead. I just froze to begin with. I froze for about five, 10 minutes.
“I didn’t know what to do. And then eventually I went into his room and I just wanted to pick him up, but they wouldn’t allow me.”
Ms Corkill branded Castle a “monster” in a statement read out during the murder trial at Preston Crown Court.
The court heard Leighland-James was taken into care at birth before he was approved to live with his prospective adoptive parents in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, from August 2020.
Leiland-James was placed with Laura Castle and her husband by authorities in Cumbria less than five months before his death from catastrophic head injuries
The Castles had been selected by an adoption panel following an application process overseen by Cumbria Children’s Services Department.
In November 2020, concerns were raised after Laura Castle said during a home visit she did not love Leiland-James and was struggling to bond with him.
Concerns remained about the lack of emotional bond and a review by social services was set to take place in the new year.
When detectives examined the Castles’ mobile phones following their arrest, they found text messages which were derogatory towards Leiland-James.
Laura Castle, 38, was branded a ‘monster’ by Leiland-James Corkill’s biological mother
A murder trial at Preston Crown Court heard how Laura Castle and her husband used derogatory language about Leighland-James in text messages and she talked about ‘leathering’ the baby
