A father who is charged with killing his two-year-old son admitted to the jury that he was in “panic mode” when he discovered the boy dead by a coffee table in the living room of their Blackpool flat.

In week three of the Preston Crown Court trial, tattoo artist Daniel Hardcastle made his first appearance in the witness box. He stated that little Damion Russell was playing happily with his toys when he heard “a thud.” He ran from the kitchen and discovered the toddler lying on the floor next to a white coffee table.

“Face down,” he remarked. “I turned him over, and he was unconscious.” I just believed he had knocked himself out.

“I simply assumed that he had struck the table because he was so close to it.”

According to information presented to the court, Damion suffered a brain bleed and was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital before being placed on life support and sent to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

After therapy was stopped, his injuries were deemed incurable, and two days later, he passed away.

According to a pathologist at the Home Office, blunt force trauma was the cause of death. “Forceful shaking in combination with a head impact” was most likely the reason.

“The overall injury pattern is deeply suspicious for sustained violent assault,” Dr. Jonathan Medcalf eontinued.

Hardcastle, who faces the jury from the witness box and denies murder, narrated the terrible day little Damion was hurt in a quiet voice.

The toddler had previously sustained several bruises before the incident in the Blackpool flat they shared on Central Drive.

In the weeks before the incident, Damion had missed numerous days of nursery. Hardcastle testified in court that the toddler had walking or balance issues and frequently fell over, sometimes a dozen times or more a day. “He was just finding his feet,” he said. “I was told he was just under-developed.” The court heard that hardcastle’s cell phone examination revealed several Google searches for how to treat bruises in children and how long they last.

Hardcastle responded, “I would get him back up and he would fall again,” when asked what he would do if his son fell.

He expressed to the jury his concern about his child’s amount of bruises. “I felt ashamed and self-conscious about the injuries. Nobody likes to see their child injured.

When asked if he was worried that other people would believe he was the reason for them, Hardcastle replied, “Yes.”

When asked if he was to blame, he said, “No.” “I was afraid that would be the conclusion that people reached. I felt terrified.

Hardcastle acknowledged that he looked up material on the internet multiple times in the weeks preceding the boy’s death, including how long infant bruises took to heal and whether he could purchase a cream to aid.

When questioned, he said, “What made you Google bruises?” “Because he was getting bruises in unusual places more and more frequently, so I had heard you could get cream. I was just doing research, I never intended to actually purchase any.” When questioned again, he said, “I have no idea.” “Did you cause them?” “No.” “Did you do anything to have caused them?” “No.”

On June 29, last year, the boy had been playing outside when he “fell on a step” at a friend’s tattoo parlour, Hardcastle told the court. “It was a hot day, and he must have fallen backwards; I didn’t see it; I just heard it,” he said. Hardcastle cried out for help, and two women, one of whom was a nurse, came to help him.

After taking off his clothes to help him cool down and placing him in the recovery position, the nurse stated that she believed the child had experienced a febrile convulsion. “I was simply in a panic,” Hardcastle admitted.

After around 25 minutes, Damion regained consciousness and was driven by ambulance to the hospital. Later that day, he was set free.

Hardcastle said that despite the bruise events, he had not contacted his general practitioner for assistance.

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Hardcastle acknowledged that the night before Damion’s tragic event, he talked to a young woman on a “flirtatious” call for almost the whole night before heading to bed at 5:30 a.m. He rose at 8 a.m. to prepare Damion’s morning meal.

He told the jury that while the youngster was playing with his toys in the living room in his pyjamas, he was in the apartment’s kitchen taking care of some duties.