Jake Drummond: Man accused of killing partner's 15-month-old baby told court infant was 'jealous' of him
PUTNEY, LONDON: A man who is charged with killing his partner's 15-month-old son told the court that the child was "jealous" of him. Jake Drummond, 33, and his girlfriend, Louise Lennon, 32, were arrested for the murder of Lennon's son Jacob Lennon in 2019.
In August 2019, 15-month-old Jacob was rushed to a hospital in Putney, London, with serious head injuries. The boy's eyes were so swollen that he resembled a "panda," and his genital injuries were described as "sadistic". The autopsy report revealed injuries consistent with horrendous long-term abuse. However, Drummond denied both the charges of murdering Jacob and intentionally injuring the child in connection with earlier wounds, including one to the genitalia from a sharp object and Lennon denies accusations of child abuse and causing or permitting a child's death.
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'He seemed to be jealous that I was close to Louise'
Giving evidence to the court on Friday, February 24, Drummond said that Jacob's injuries were either self-inflicted or caused by his four-year-old sibling, as per Daily Mail. Drummond informed the court of this relationship with the infant, saying, "At first he was okay with me, I'd say hello to him he couldn't really reply but I'd say hello and he'd be affectionate towards me. Then after a while he just changed with me, he seemed to be jealous that I was close to Louise."
"Did Jacob seem like a normal toddler?" asked defense lawyer Anna Whyte, KC, to which Drummond replied, "Yes and no, he was normal-ish, he did have a few bad habits, I think he picked them up from [his brother]. He was walking into his mum and just slapping her, screaming because [his brother] was screaming, stuff like that."
He said that Lennon sent him a picture of Jacob's burn at the beginning of August 2019 and informed him that Jacob had used Veet hair removal cream on himself. He also claimed to have cut Jacob's hair at home using a pair of clippers.
"Can you remember any incident with Jacob that could have put him at risk?" Whyte asked. Drummond replied, "Yeah I'd seen [Jacob's brother] lash out at Jacob a few times and hit him. I'd seen him get angry that Jacob was playing with his toys and I'd seen him punch him in the face and slap him." He went on, "Louise turned it into a big joke, she would pick up Jacob and pick up his hands and use them to punch his brother, turn it into a game. I never saw [Jacob's brother] told off for it. The only time he was told off was when I told him off when I caught him hitting him once. I know Jacob falls out of [his brother's] bed. There was a couple of times when I stayed over and had gone to the toilet in the middle of the night and heard a bang and cry, and Jacob was on the floor next to [his brother's] bed, crying. I went and picked him up, gave him his dummy, gave him a cuddle, rocked him and put him back into bed."
Drummond blamed Jacob's injuries on his 4-year-old sibling
"Had you ever seen Jacob hitting his head on any surface?" asked Whyte, to which Drummond answered, "Yes, I would see him throwing a temper tantrum, throwing his head forwards and hitting his head on the floor. He'd have red marks all over his head and then the next day little bruises. On one occasion had a gash on his mouth, Louise told me [his brother] had kicked him in his mouth when he had his dummy in mouth and it had cut his lip. I said she needed to take him to the doctors but she she said 'no, no. its fine I'll just put some Savlon on it'."
"Was there anything about the children's care that caused you concern?" Whyte asked. "They didn't have bedtimes, [Louise] was letting them go to sleep at 1 to 2 o'clock in the morning," Drummond replied. "I didn't think that was right. [Jacob's brother] was just sleeping wherever he fell asleep. Louise was just letting him pass out wherever he wanted, not taking him to bed. She wasn't doing them dinner at a regular time, it would sometimes be very late," he added.
The rest of Drummond's court hearing will continue on Monday, February 27.