Nine-year-old boy died after being 'whipped and held in bath by mum and partner'

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A nine-year-old boy died after being "repeatedly assaulted, beaten", and "held" in a cold bath as punishment by his mother and her fiancé, a court has heard.Alfie Steele, who was covered in bruises, had been subjected to a cruel and "sinister" regime of correction by his mother, Carla Scott, and her partner, Dirk Howell, both of whom are accused of the little boy's murder, the court was told.Opening the case on Tuesday at Coventry Crown Court, Michelle Heeley KC, prosecuting, said "both thought it was acceptable" to hit Alfie with "belts, or a slider, like a heavy-duty flip flop, and use other more sinister forms of punishment".These alleged methods included "dunking" him "in cold baths whilst naked" or forcing Alfie to "stand outside, in the middle of the night and have cold water" thrown over him.She added: "Alfie died as a result of the deliberate and unlawful actions of Carla Scott and Dirk Howell and, together, they are guilty of his murder."Alfie had 50 injuries all over his body - only a handful, medical experts would say, likely down to normal childhood bumps and scrapes, added Ms Heeley.

Among his wounds, some abrasions on the left side of his face were allegedly caused by "direct pressure", with jurors told they would "hear evidence about him being held under water".The Crown's KC said Scott had Alfie during a previous relationship - in which children's services had involvement - with the boy's father, and which broke up in 2017.

Scott, 35, was "no stranger to social services and knew what was expected of her in terms of co-operating with them".In July 2019 she started dating 41-year-old Howell and within six months they became engaged, though they had made no plans for a wedding.