I got woke up just after 2am to Angharad screaming: ‘Logan’s dead’"
Defendant John Cole, who is in the witness box, describes the moment he claims he last saw stepson Logan Mwangi alive.
The defendant said: “He kept jumping out of bed, slamming on the floor and on his knees……….. We spent hours putting him to bed.”
His barrister David Elias QC said: “Did you hit him in any way? Cole said: “No.”
Mr Elias said: “How did he seem?” Cole said: “Annoyed.”
Mr Elias said: “Did you have any concerns about his health?” Cole said: “No.”
Mr Elias said: “What was he wearing?” Cole said: “He still had his dinosaur top on and dinosaur bottoms.”
The defendant said he went to bed at midnight and took his medication. He said: “[Williamson] was originally in bed with me but because Logan was kicking off she went to sit on a chair in his bedroom.”
Mr Elias said: “Did you see her going into Logan’s bedroom?” Cole said: “Yes.”
Mr Elias said: “When you went to sleep where were you?” Cole said: “I was in the bedroom.”
Mr Elias said: “Was Angharad with you?” Cole said: “No, she was still sat in the bedroom with Logan.”
The court hears Cole’s account of Logan’s death and the decision to take his body to the river.
Mr Elias said: “What was the next thing you were aware of?”
Cole said: “I got woke up just after 2am to Angharad screaming: ‘Logan’s dead’.”
Mr Elias said: “What did you do?” Cole said: “I went through to Logan’s bedroom and attempted to do CPR on him.”
Mr Elias said: “When you got into the bedroom where was Logan?”
Cole said: “He was on his bed, had legs cocked up towards his stomach, and his head was tilted to his right-hand side,. His eyes were wide open.”
Mr Elias said: “How did you feel?” Cole said: “I tried to do CPR on him when Angharad said he was dead and she heard him take his last breath. I was trying to save him, I was literally trying to do CPR on him.”
Mr Elias said: “What he was wearing?” Cole said: “He just had his pyjama bottoms on…. I started giving chest compressions and breath. I moved him to the floor and did CPR for ages, like 10 to 15 minutes.”
Mr Elias said: “Did it have any effect on him?” Cole said: “No.”
Mr Elias said: “Who was in the room?” Cole said: “Angharad and me.”
Mr Elias said: “What happened then?” Cole said: “I continued for ages, 10 to 15 minutes. There was no response at all. Eventually Angharad said: ‘Stop, please stop’ She was crying and said: ‘He’s dead’.”
Mr Elias said: “Did you know why Logan was in that state?” Cole said: “No… I just got woke up to that just after 2am. It just didn’t make sense at all.”
Mr Elias said: “Did you stop?” Cole said: “Yes.”
Cole was asked about what happened next. He said: “Angharad put a Spiderman T-shirt on, I helped her put it on him, I put him in the Nike bag and carried him out.”
Mr Elias said: “Who suggested putting a Spiderman top on him?” Cole said: “I don’t remember…. He didn’t have a top on when I went through to give him CPR.”
Mr Elias said: “Was there any conversation between the two of you before the top was put on and you put Logan in the Nike bag?” Cole said: “We were panicking, both of us were – we didn’t know what to do. We mentioned about phoning the police and ambulance but Logan was already dead.”
Mr Elias said: “Why were you panicking?”
Cole said: “Because I had just come in to a dead child – it didn’t make sense…. Why he was dead.”
Mr Elias said: “Had you done anything at all to lead to his death? Did you know what caused him to die?”
Cole said: “No.”
Mr Elias said: “What was going through your mind?”
Cole said: “Angharad said to me: ‘What do we do? What do we do?' I said: ‘What do you want me to do?’ We went backwards and forwards for a good five minutes or so.”
Mr Elias said: “Why didn’t you call for an ambulance?”
Cole said: “Shock, panic…..The situation didn’t make sense and I didn’t know what to do….. I wasn’t thinking properly….. Logan was deceased, he was already dead.”
Logan Mwangi murder trial continues with defendant giving evidence