Man jailed for life for murdering partner’s 22-month-old son

A man who shook his partner’s toddler to death after staying up late playing video games has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years for the 22-month-old’s murder.

Christopher Stockton, 38, was in sole charge of Charlie Roberts when the boy suffered a fatal head injury in the Darlington family home, but his mother Paula admitted neglecting him prior to the murder.

Roberts, 41, was suspicious enough about Stockton that she set up a spy camera above her son’s cot, a trial at Teesside Crown Court heard in December.

But she stayed in a relationship with him, even after she voiced her concerns about Stockton to her brother.

Having initially denied a child cruelty charge, Roberts was to eventually admit neglecting her son by failing to get Charlie medical treatment for bruising caused by Stockton over several weeks.

Her boyfriend was convicted of murder and child cruelty.

Stockton was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.

Roberts has been jailed for four years.

Mr Justice Goss, sentencing, said Charlie, who was born two months prematurely and had difficulty communicating, was particularly vulnerable.

He said an injury inflicted by Stockton to the little boy’s genitals would have been “excruciatingly painful” and yet neither adult sought medical attention for him.

The judge said only Stockton knew why he inflicted the fatal blow which caused brain injuries similar to those seen in a car crash, a crushing incident or a fall of several storeys.

The judge said: “You have robbed his family of the joy of bringing up a child and of sharing life events with him.

“No court can undo the harm you have caused.”

The judge said Roberts now claimed that Stockton was controlling and coercive and he said she would have been aware of help offered to people in her situation.

He said: “You now recognise that you contributed to his neglect, in effect turning a blind eye to what you must have known was the reality of the situation.

“You remain a risk to any children in your care.”

Stockton, who had moved in with Roberts and her little boy just seven days earlier, was in sole charge of Charlie when he inflicted a severe head injury which caused widespread bleeding on the brain in January 2024.

Nicholas Lumley KC, prosecuting, told jurors that Stockton “shook or threw him with such violence, deliberately and forcefully harming little Charlie”.

Roberts had left the home minutes before to go for an eye test, and Stockton, who was off work ill and who had stayed up into the early hours playing Xbox games, must have snapped that January morning, the court was told.

Stockton rang 999 and could be heard on a recording repeatedly saying “come on mate” and “wakey wakey” to the little boy, who was not breathing.

Stockton was to tell paramedics, doctors and the police that Charlie had choked on a biscuit and that he patted the child on the back and stuck his fingers down the toddler’s throat.

The toddler died in hospital the next day.

Jamie Hill KC, defending Stockton, told the court on Friday that he had no previous convictions, the murder was not premeditated and there was no intention to kill.

Richard Herrmann, defending Roberts, said she had struggled with mental health issues.

She wept as Mr Herrmann said: “She has to live with the knowledge that had she acted differently it would not have happened.”

Charlie’s father and two grandfathers had written statements for the court about their sense of loss, but all three did not want them read out in public.

After Stockton’s conviction, Charlie’s dad Barry Greenwell said: “Charlie was a much-loved son and grandson who has been taken away needlessly, and has left the whole family with a void that will never be filled.

“As a family we are processing the recent events and are trying to come to terms with the verdict and information given that has been deeply disturbing to ourselves.”

After the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Chris Barker said: “Charlie Roberts was a little boy who just wanted to play. A little boy who just wanted to be loved. A little boy who did not deserve to die.

“Christopher Stockton’s actions are unforgivable and sadly nothing will bring Charlie back but at least he is now facing the consequences of what he has done.

“I urge anyone who has concerns about those caring for children to speak out and ask for help.

“This is a truly heart-breaking case, and my thoughts remain with those who truly cared about Charlie.”