A postman who killed his girlfriend’s 18-month-old son after a series of assaults has been jailed for nine years.
Scott Coombe repeatedly injured Andrew Cawker before losing “control” and causing his death on 22 July, 2019.
Coombe, 24, of Petts Wood, south-east London, had been “besotted” with the child’s mother, Tamika Beaton, but struggled to cope, the Old Bailey heard.
Initially, the couple had wrongly blamed Andrew’s injuries on his father, Ben Cawker, and on the child’s “clumsy” nature.
Coombe had even claimed he had raised concerns with his brother, who was a serving police officer.
Last year Coombe admitted manslaughter and child cruelty relating to three earlier incidents of assault or mistreatment.
Beaton, 25, from Peckham, south-east London, was found guilty of child cruelty by wilfully neglecting to protect her son.
On Friday, Judge Mark Lucraft KC jailed Coombe at the Old Bailey for nine years. He sentenced Beaton to 12 months in custody suspended for 18 months.
The judge acknowledged Coombe’s expression of remorse and written apology to Mr Cawker, but said he could not ignore the “aggravating factor of casting suspicion on others”.
He said Andrew’s father, who was not in court, had faced a “nightmare scenario of having his son killed and having some stain cast on him”.
He said: “I was struck by him, the way he gave evidence. He is someone who bears no responsibility for what happened to his son.”
The judge noted Coombe was working full-time as well as taking on domestic chores and childcare.
Andrew was said to be a “boisterous child” with difficulty sleeping and high levels of energy who could be demanding, he said.
But the judge said that these circumstances were not uncommon in parenthood.
On the seriousness of the offence, he told Coombe: “There is a clear history of violence or abuse towards Andrew by you.
“Andrew was particularly vulnerable because of his age. There was also the abuse of a position of trust.”
He told Beaton: “It is clear to me you were fully aware of the injuries to Andrew. There was no adequate explanation for them.”
Previously, the court had heard how Beaton had put her own interests before those of her son with “catastrophic” consequences.
Beaton had begun cheating on Mr Cawker after meeting Coombe at a fitness class while trying to lose weight after Andrew’s birth.
The case was heard at the Old Bailey in London
