Zoe Coutts and Scott O’Connor blamed toddler Kol Page’s horrific injuries, which led to his death, on his ‘clumsiness’, before turning on each other to avoid justice
A mother and her new boyfriend have been sentenced to a total of 27 years following the death of her young son after months of “horrific abuse”.
Zoe Coutts and Scott O’Connor blamed toddler Kol Page’s injuries on his ‘clumsiness’, before turning on each other in a final effort to avoid justice. Sick texts were revealed between the pair in court including a message from O’Connor saying: “Jesus slap him back to sleep lol.”
O’Connor, 36, was found guilty of the manslaughter of Kol, and the boy’s mum, Coutts, 35, was found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child, at Southwark Crown Court in March. They were cleared of murdering Kol, who died aged four on June 29, 2024, from injuries that had been inflicted at his house in Bromley in April 2022.
Today, Coutts was sentenced to nine years and 109 days in jail while O’Connor was handed an 18-year custodial sentence with a five-year extended sentence.
Kol, at the time aged two, was found by the London Ambulance Service not breathing on April 25, with bruises over his face and a serious injury to his abdomen, caused by a stamp or punch.
“While he survived, his injuries were so severe that doctors could not give him enough medication to take away his pain without risking causing his death,” the Metropolitan Police said. “He bravely lived on for two more years, before dying aged just four years and three months on Saturday, 29 June, 2024.”
During the trial, jurors were shown text messages between the couple, including an exchange on the morning of April 20, 2022. Coutts had messaged O’Connor to say Kol had been “whinging”, and O’Connor replied saying: “Jesus slap him back to sleep lol.”
Jurors were told that on the evening of April 24, the pair went to bed and Kol slept in the cot alongside their bed. The following morning, Coutts described Kol as on the sofa and wriggly, adding he was “pretty chesty” and that maybe phlegm on his chest caused him to be sick.
The emergency services were later called, and Kol was taken to hospital where he had surgery. Three injuries to the small bowel were found. The prosecution alleged that the injuries were caused by significant force to the front of the abdomen, the result of a punch, kick or stamp.
Coutts said in interview that Kol was an active child who was constantly running and climbing over furniture which caused him to bruise easily. O’Connor said in interview: “What’s happened (is) ’cause of the way Kol is and stuff. He’s just – he’s always hurting himself and – he’s very clumsy – that’s, that’s what I think happened.”
Giving evidence at Southwark Crown Court, Coutts denied ever hurting her son, and tearfully told the jury: “I would never hit him, at all, ever.” Asked to explain the injuries, Coutts told the court: “With everything I’ve seen, with the evidence, it must have been Scott, and there’s evidence to prove it.”
She said O’Connor told her that Kol had previously sustained two black eyes in an accidental fall while climbing out of his cot. Coutts also told the jury she had never seen O’Connor being violent towards her son.
After the trial, Detective Chief Inspector Kate Blackburn, whose homicide team led the investigation, said: “Kol was an innocent little boy who suffered horrific abuse in the place where he should have been safest – at home with his mother.
“Coutts and her new boyfriend, O’Connor, tried to deceive paramedics, doctors and police officers, repeating lie after lie about how Kol came to be so seriously injured.
“It was the tireless work of detectives that exposed the couple’s lies, combing through months of messages, appalling pictures and CCTV evidence to uncover the sustained abuse suffered by that little boy.
“I want to thank the first responders who tried to help Kol in a case that has been particularly harrowing for all involved, especially the doctors and nurses who cared for him over such as sustained period of time and his foster carers who gave him immense compassion and safety.
“Kol was boisterous, cheeky and endlessly loving to everyone who knew him. He should have had a bright future, but was instead let down by those who should have protected him most. He will always be remembered.”
In a victim impact statement, Kol’s foster parents described how he was so badly injured they initially moved into the hospital to look after him. They said that he loved seeing the emotional support dog and bought him guinea pigs after seeing how he responded to them sitting in his lap.
His foster parents told the court: “I immediately fell in love with him. I knew he needed someone to be there for him, to protect him. He was in so much pain. He would cry out in pain so much. You could hear him from the lifts as you walked into the hospital. I knew it was him as he had such a distinctive cry.
“It was so hard to comfort him, I wanted to cuddle him but it would cause him too much pain. But it was nice as the staff would say thank goodness you are here, as when he could hear my voice it would placate him. This meant that I knew he loved me in the same way I loved him.
“I see him as my child; I may not have given birth to him, but I see him as my son. I am blessed to have been able to have looked after Kol for the time I did.”
