Craig Rowland, a 29-year-old man from Millington Park, Portadown, Co Armagh, denied killing his son Lewis by violently shaking him. However, he admitted to telling lies to the police after his son’s death. Lewis, a three-year-old boy, passed away after complications from surgery on October 20, 2018. The Crown believes that the brain injuries Lewis sustained at 13 weeks old in 2015 played a role in his death.
During his trial at Belfast Crown Court, Rowland took the stand and recounted the events leading up to Lewis’s hospitalization. He mentioned that he and his partner Laura Graham noticed Lewis was unwell in the early hours of November 20, 2015, and decided to take him to Craigavon Area Hospital. Rowland admitted that he should have called an ambulance for his son but did not have a phone at the time. He also stated that he did not see anyone injure Lewis.
Under cross-examination, Rowland acknowledged that someone had inflicted severe injuries on Lewis when he was three months old. He admitted to lying to the police after his arrest but maintained that he did not carry out the brutal attack on his son. Both Rowland and Laura Graham pleaded guilty to neglecting Lewis by failing to seek timely medical treatment for him in 2015.
The prosecution’s case against Rowland focuses on the severe injuries Lewis suffered as an infant, leading to his eventual death. While Rowland denies committing the violent act, he accepts that someone caused harm to his son. The trial continues as the court seeks to uncover the truth behind Lewis’s tragic death.
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