Who was Jacob Lennon? Late 15-month-old boy looked swollen like a 'panda', had 'sadistic' genital injuries due to abuse
PUTNEY, LONDON: Jacob Lennon, a 15-month-old boy, died in August 2019 after he was rushed to a hospital in Putney, London, with serious head injuries. His parents Jake Drummond, 33, and Louise Lennon, 32, were arrested and face murder charges.
The boy's eyes were so swollen that he resembled a "panda," and his genital injuries were described as "sadistic, the trial has heard. The autopsy report revealed injuries consistent with horrendous long-term abuse.
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'Jacob looks like a lil mad man'
Prosecutor Sally O’Neill told an Old Bailey jury: “It is the Crown’s case that Jake Drummond had embarked on a campaign of deliberately assaulting and hurting Jacob between July and the end of August. The injuries which he caused were obvious and noticeable."
On 20 August 2019, a week before Jacob's death, Lennon texted Drummond: "Jacob looks like a lil mad man still lol sure he'll be OK by Friday." Drummond replied: "Fingers crossed," reported Mirror.
The court heard that the two had met through family connections as teenagers. Despite this, Drummond continued to message his ex-partner in an “obsessive” manner over the coming months until she reported him to the police for harassment, My London reported.
Drummond has a history of cocaine and cannabis abuse
On the day Jacob was reported dead, Drummond was reported for harassment and had visited the police station. “He was very angry about this as is clear from the texts,” O’Neill said. Drummond, who has a history of cocaine and cannabis abuse, took cocaine later that evening with an analysis of Jacob’s blood showing that he had been exposed to both drugs."
The medical team described many external injuries on Jacob and a total of 34 different marks across his body. "His eyes were so swollen he was unable to open them. Beneath his eyes was so darkly bruised, it looked like a panda," the prosecutor said.
"His testicles were also swollen and he suffered an injury to the penis 'consistent with the application of blunt force such as through extreme pinching or possibly through biting.' The injury to the scrotum was a penetrating injury as a result of penetration by a semi-sharp or sharp object such as a small-bladed weapon including a skewer or similar in preceding days."
Drummond had problems with Jacob sleeping in bed with Louise
"The injury to Jacob's penis and scrotum in particular caused by a sharp object was sadistic in its cruelty and must have caused great pain to Jacob," the report added O'Neil as saying. It has been said that Drummond had problems with Jacob sleeping in the bed with Louise. Moreover, O'Neil said, "the text like putting him in the 'torture chamber' and Louise Lennon referring to Jacob as looking like a little madman because of his bruises were very concerning."
Drummond, of no fixed address, denies murder and causing him grievous bodily harm with intent. Lennon, of Ingrave Street, Wandsworth, denied causing or allowing the death of a child and child cruelty, the report mentioned.
Lennon was more concerned about her relationship
O'Neil, however, puts that Lennon was more concerned about her relationship with Drummond than protecting Jacob. Though "it was getting obvious to her that Jake didn't like Jacob and Jacob's ever-increasing and unexplained injuries."
Just after 6 in the morning on August 26, 2019, Lennon called 911 and asked for an ambulance for her infant son since he was having trouble breathing and was feeling sick. Lennon, as per O'Neill, told investigators that "he must have hit his head or something..." Adding, "her 'friend had obviously just gone in, heard a big bump like he fell out of bed or something."
Huge facial swelling and bruising
"When he arrived at the hospital, it was obvious to the pediatric team who were in the emergency paediatric department that Jacob had sustained serious head injuries which were obvious from huge facial swelling and bruising," O'Neill said. "He was obviously extremely unwell and all efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. At 7.22 am, Jacob was pronounced dead.