world
British Couple Jailed for Manslaughter in Death of Four-Year-Old Boy
Scott O'Connor was sentenced to 18 years in prison for manslaughter after inflicting catastrophic injuries on two-year-old Kol Page in April 2022. Zoe Coutts, the boy's mother, received 10 years for causing or allowing the child's death. Kol survived with severe brain damage for two years in hospital and foster care before dying in June 2024 at age four.
The BbcAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
A British man was sentenced to 18 years in prison for the manslaughter of his former girlfriend's young son, while the boy's mother received a 10-year term for failing to protect him from months of abuse. Scott O'Connor, 36, and Zoe Coutts, 35, were convicted at Southwark Crown Court following a four-week trial.
Although both were cleared of murder, jurors found O'Connor guilty of manslaughter and Coutts guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child. Kol Page suffered catastrophic head injuries on April 25, 2022, at the family's home in Bromley, southeast London.
Emergency services found him unresponsive. Doctors determined the injuries were consistent with violent assault comparable to a serious road traffic collision. The child survived for two years with severe brain damage, spending 14 months in hospital before moving to foster care.
He died in June 2024 at the age of four as a direct result of those injuries. Prosecutors presented evidence that Kol endured prolonged mistreatment over several months, including repeated black eyes and a patch of hair ripped from his head.
Mobile phone data analyzed by Metropolitan Police detectives showed O'Connor visited the family home 28 times in the month before the April 2022 assault, staying overnight 16 times. This occurred despite Coutts living in accommodation designated for victims of domestic abuse that did not permit male visitors.
The couple repeatedly lied to relatives, friends, paramedics, doctors and police, claiming Kol was clumsy and prone to falling or bumping into things. Text messages recovered by prosecutors revealed the pair making light of harming the child. " They also shared photographs of the boy's injuries.
Rather than seeking urgent medical care after the April 2022 assault, Coutts attended a football match with O'Connor. Mr Justice Johnson told O'Connor he demonstrated "a high degree of culpability" and had "shown no remorse, no insight and no acceptance of responsibility" for his actions.
