Blackpool dad convicted of murdering his two-year-old son

A father from Blackpool has been found guilty of murdering his son.

Daniel Hardcastle, 31, denied being responsible for the death of his son, Damion Russell, who was just two years old when he died as a result of a traumatic head injury.

Hardcastle claimed that the toddler had fallen and banged his head, but medical evidence presented by the Crown Prosecution Service to the jury during the trial proved that Damion’s death was caused by a violent assault.

Hardcastle had fought to have sole custody of his son who was placed with him in May 2023.

Just three months later on 19 August 2023 at 11.09am, Hardcastle rang the emergency services saying his son was unresponsive and injured.

Paramedics arrived soon after and found Hardcastle performing CPR on Damion.

Damion was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Sadly, he had suffered an unsurvivable brain injury and was pronounced dead two days later on 21 August 2023 at 6.22pm.

Doctors at the hospital noted other injuries in addition to the head injury, including a human bite mark to his right thigh, a rib fracture, damage to his upper lip and extensive bruising to the whole of Damion’s body.

Hardcastle was arrested and in police interview he gave a prepared statement repeating that Damion had injured himself when he ran into the coffee table and had then begun fitting.

As part of the investigation, data analysis from Hardcastle’s mobile phone revealed that he had made a number of searches in relation to the ageing process of bruises, with one search just four minutes before his call to the emergency services.

Hardcastle made no comment in a subsequent police interview and went on to plead not guilty at court.

Following a lengthy trial at Preston Crown Court, on 10 July 2024, he was found guilty of murder. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Tom Snape, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “Damion’s life has been cruelly cut short by his own father, Daniel Hardcastle.

“As his father, Hardcastle should have cared for him and protected him from harm. Instead, he assaulted Damion so violently and with such force that it caused extensive injuries which led to his death.

“Everyone who has worked on the case has been deeply affected by the circumstances of Damion’s untimely death.

“I can only hope that those that loved and cared for Damion can feel some sense of justice with the outcome of this case.”