Stepmom Guilty of Manslaughter After Filming Dying Stepson Instead of Calling for Ambulance

Leila Borrington, 23, has been found guilty of manslaughter and causing grievous bodily harm to her three-year-old stepson, Harvey Borrington, by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court.

On August 7, 2021, paramedics found the toddler unconscious and unresponsive at the family home, where his stepmother claimed that he had fallen off a chair. She filmed him moaning on the floor instead of calling for an ambulance.

However, medical experts found that Harvey’s injuries, which included a fractured skull and a fatal bleed on the brain, had been caused by repeated blows instead of a one-off fall. He had also suffered several other older injuries, including a broken arm.

During the trial, Leila Borrington denied hitting Harvey, who was autistic and non-verbal, and claimed that she had filmed him to “show paramedics.”

However, the footage showed the boy lying on his side and moaning, with his arms out in front of him, just moments after his collapse.

The jury acquitted Borrington of murder but convicted her of manslaughter. She was also convicted of separate charges of assault and causing grievous bodily harm to Harvey Borrington. The jurors cleared her of three charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Harvey died in hospital on August 9, two days after paramedics found him deeply unconscious, unresponsive, and with abnormal body posture. The jury deliberated for over 24 hours before returning the seven verdicts.

The sentencing of Leila Borrington has been adjourned to a later date.