A man who deliberately crushed a toddler to death texted four women as the boy lay dying in hospital and even claimed that friends had ‘framed him’, a court has heard.
Stephen Waterson is accused of pushing his seat back against Alfie Lamb as he was sitting in the rear footwell of an Audi A4 convertible.
The 25-year-old is said to have repeatedly lied afterwards in a bid to cover up the crime.
Waterson told police Alfie had been injured in a taxi and he was an innocent witness who was simply ‘driving past’ in Croydon, south London.
Alfie’s mother Adrian Hoare, 23, allegedly put her son in the footwell and ‘did nothing to help him’ as he screamed out for her, the court heard.
The youngster died three days after suffering a cardiac arrest outside the home he shared with the couple in Croydon, south London.
Today, Waterson agreed with the suggestion that he had ‘been horribly framed’ for what had happened by the three other adults in the car.
Stephen Waterson is accused of deliberately ramming his seat back against Alfie Lamb
Adrian Hoare, 23, allegedly put Alfie in the footwell and did nothing to help him as he screamed out for her
The Audi convertible car in which three-year-old Alfie Lamb is alleged to have been crushed while in the rear footwell behind the front passenger seat
It came as the court heard that he texted four women while Alfie was lying critically injured in hospital.
Katy Thorne, QC, representing Adrian Hoare, asked him: ‘During your panic you were able to keep talking with all of the women you were talking to at the time?’
Waterson replied: ‘I am allowed female friends.’
Ms Thorne said: ‘These are women you are seeking sexual relationships with.’
Ms Thorne asked him about a women named Amy who he was texting at the time.
Alfie died three days after suffering a cardiac arrest
Waterson said: ‘Amy wanted me to leave Adrian. She wanted me to go with her.’
Ms Thorne asked ‘What about Laura?’ to which Waterson answered: ‘I worked with her.’
Ms Thorne then asked: ‘What about Sophie?’
Waterson said: ‘My ex-partner? I was friends with her at this time.’
Ms Thorne said: ‘During all this time that you are panicking about Alfie, why did you think that it was necessary to text these ladies, do you want to see the messages?’
Mr Waterson replied that he did not.
Ms Thorne continued: ‘Alfie is in hospital, you are texting Carla asking: ‘You OK? When are you coming to see me?
‘You sure that is not intended to be a sexual encounter?’
Ms Thorne paraphrased his message to Carla: “Why don’t you just come and stay at mine or something”, you say to Carla. It is not you replying to Carla it is you pursuing Carla.
‘I am not commenting about the fact that you are texting other women, although there are quite a few of them.
‘I am commenting about during the time that you are concerned about Alfie, and panicking, you are pursuing other women’.
A court sketch of Adrian Hoare and Stephen Waterson from their trial at the Old Bailey on January 21
Waterson told the court he did not ram the seat against Alfie because he was crying.
‘I didn’t move that seat back to deliberately hurt him,’ he told the jury.
‘I understand what they are saying but it didn’t happen. I was asked once to move it forward and I moved it forward.
‘I take responsibility along with everyone else in that car that he shouldn’t have been in the footwell of that car.’
Asked how Alfie had died, Waterson said: ‘This is what I want to find out as well. It was not the chair going back.’
After the incident he called 999 claiming he was an innocent witness who was ‘literally driving past.’
Waterson and Hoare lied repeatedly after the event and assaulted the two other passengers in an attempt to cover up their crime, the Old Bailey has heard.
Waterson told jurors that he lied to police because he was worried that he would get in trouble because the driver of the car, Marcus Lamb, had been disqualified.
Defence counsel Tana Adkin QC asked Waterson how Alfie felt when he pulled him out of the car.
Waterson told jurors that he lied to police because he was worried that he would get in trouble because the driver of the car, Marcus Lamb, had been disqualified
He said: ‘When I picked him up his body was heavy, his legs… his body sort of flopped down – they were just hanging down.
‘I tried to wake Alfie up, at first I thought he was joking around. Sometimes we play games but I soon realised there was something up. I just tried to get him to wake up. I was trying to do CPR, nothing was working.’
Waterson, who appeared in court carrying a white crucifix, said he originally gave police the name Alex Richardson.
He told the court: ‘At the time I panicked. At that time the police spoke to me, they asked me ‘do I know what happened’ and I spoke to them and at first I said ‘no.’
‘Marcus didn’t want to admit being the driver. I didn’t want to be the driver because I thought it was something to do with allowing the children to be in the footwell.
‘I didn’t want to take Marcus’ place as being the driver. ‘
Waterson is accused of ramming his seat back (pictured) into Alfie, crushing him against the back seat
The QC asked: ‘Did you think Alfie should have been in the footwell of a car?’
‘No,’ replied Waterson.
Hoare and Waterson, from Croydon, south London, deny manslaughter.
She also denies charges of child cruelty for placing Alfie in the footwell and common assault on Ms Williams on February 14.
Waterson also denies intimidating Marcus Lamb, also known as Marcus Richardson, on 15 February.
But Hoare and Waterson, have admitted perverting the course by submitting false statements to police.
The trial continues.
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