A man accused of fatally crashing his girlfriend's three-year-old son by reversing his car seat onto him then ran off to leave others to call for help, a court heard. Mum Adrian Hoare, 23, placed Alfie Lamb in the back footwell of the car before her boyfriend Stephen Waterson, 25, deliberately forced his seat back against him, it has been alleged. Alfie died three days later after suffering a cardiac arrest at the home he shared with the couple in Croydon, south London. Waterson and Hoare lied repeatedly after the event and assaulted the two other passengers, in the Audi A4, in a bid to cover up their crime, the Old Bailey has heard. The driver, Marcus Richardson, was later assaulted and threatened by Waterson, while Hoare slapped Emilie Williams across the face two weeks after Alfie's death, it is claimed.
Mr Richardson - also known as Marcus Lamb told jurors that Waterson assaulted him two weeks later because he had given police the number plate of the car. He was arrested and questioned about Alfie's death on March 17. Hoare's defence barrister, Tana Adkin, asked Mr Richardson if he blamed Waterson for Alfie's death when questioned by police. He replied: "No I didn't blame anyone. It was the truth."Jurors heard how paramedics arrived, where the group had got out the car to discover Alfie was unconscious.
They found Mr Richardson giving Alfie CPR while Waterson was nowhere to be seen. Ms Adkin asked whether Waterson had taken Emilie's child away to shield her from the scene. Mr Richardson replied: "No, Steven ran off and said he could not deal with it all so left me to deal with the ambulance."I did not see Steven take the other child. She was right next to Adrian in Emilie's arms."Ms Adkin said: "Steven said he took the child up to the flat. Is that right?""No," he replied. Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson has told the court Alfie had been 'fit and well' until he got in the Audion February 1 last year. He continued: "It follows that during that car journey something happened to Alfie to compress his chest and abdomen so that he went from an active toddler to a very seriously ill and brain-damaged one."The pathologist found that Alfie had died as a result of crush asphyxia."He was squashed by the car seat and suffocated.
"This movement was a deliberate action by Waterson who was angered by the noise and fuss that a three and a half-year-old was making during the journey."Hoare and Waterson, from Croydon, south London, both deny manslaughter. Hoare further denies charges of child cruelty for placing Alfie in the footwell and common assault on Emilie Williams on February 14. Photos shown to the jury show the footwell of the car after the alleged act.
Waterson further denies intimidating Marcus Lamb, also known as Marcus Richardson, on February 15. But Hoare and Waterson, have admitted perverting the course by submitting false statements to police. The trial continues.