Father admits angrily flinging baby son on floor

A father has admitted that he "flung" his baby son on the floor of their west London family home in a fit of anger, allegedly causing injuries from which he died 14 years later.

Lejaune Wood, 43, of Wuppertal, Germany, told the Old Bailey on Wednesday that he was "furious" and wanted "attention" from his wife Paquita but did not intend to seriously hurt four-month-old LJ on 12 December 2007.

Wood also admitted it was his idea to wait for two days before his wife took LJ to hospital with a broken arm and ribs, a fractured skull and bleeding on the brain.

LJ died aged 14 on 6 December 2021 allegedly from complications linked to the assault. Wood was charged with his murder, which he denies.

Wood told jurors: "At that time I was hardly sleeping. I was working a lot. I was literally trying my best to put food on the table - and at that I was failing.

"That morning I just wanted my wife to be there for me. I was literally breaking down inside of me."

The court heard that LJ's premature birth eight weeks early put Wood under "quite a lot of strain" and he felt "scared" of losing his wife after she was admitted to hospital with a postnatal infection.

He said: "About that time, our life was really stressed.

"Financially we were living day-to-day. I got a promotion but that was still not enough to live on. I had to work every hour of the day."

On the morning of 12 December, Wood woke and called to his wife in the kitchen of their Hayes home to come back to bed as he felt "lonely", the court heard.

Wood said: "She said she had to care for LJ and give him his milk. I explained she was spending too much time with LJ and not enough time with me.

"I remember me getting agitated and angry. I said 'I work every single hour, the least you can do is spend some time with me'.

"I was so furious at that point. I grabbed LJ by his arms while she was turning away. The way I yanked him out of her hands, he was not supported in any kind of way."

The defendant said LJ's head had "flopped".

Paquita tried to intervene, but Wood said he pushed her and she fell to the floor.

"At this stage, I just had enough and I flung LJ to the floor. It was quite a bit of force. At that point I was all over the place," he said.

Afterwards, Paquita suggested they took LJ to hospital but Wood said he wanted to wait a couple of days to "see how he is".

At first, he said he did not notice any injury but his wife later pointed out LJ's arm was "floppy" and he had a lump on his head.

By 14 December, Wood said he and his wife were "very worried" and they decided she would take him to Hillingdon hospital as he had to go to work.

Wood accepted he had caused LJ's injuries and that what he had done was "unlawful".

He told jurors that he had no intention to cause LJ serious harm during the incident.

Asked what he had been thinking when he grabbed LJ from his wife, Wood said: "I wanted to take him from her so maybe she would pay attention to me rather than LJ."

On why he then threw him to the floor, he said: "At that time I just had enough. It was more like I was saying 'here, have your child'."

The trial continues.

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