A MUM and her boyfriend inflicted 36 rib fractures on her "completely defenceless" son in the weeks leading up to his death, a court heard.

Phylesia Shirley, 24, are accused of killing Kyrell Matthews, two, with her boyfriend Kemar Brown, 28.

The tot was found in cardiac arrest at his home in Thornton Heath, South London, in October 2019.

He had died from blunt force trauma caused by "forceful squeezing, punching, kicking or stamping", it is alleged.

Prosecutor Edward Brown, QC, told jurors at the Old Bailey: "Kyrell Matthews was just two-years-old when he died.

"His second birthday had been just a month before on 19th September.

"There were multiple fractures of the ribs and significant internal lacerations of the liver and other internal areas caused by squeezing the ribs or by a blow or blows to the abdomen.

"There was bruising to some of the abdominal structures, bruising to the trunk and there was significant bleeding in the abdomen as a result of the internal laceration caused by external forces.

"Say the prosecution, the young child's death was caused by very forceful squeezing or blow.

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"Given the whole picture of injuries that were found after he died, the forensic pathologist considered squeezing or crushing the principal mechanism that caused that young child's death.

"What you will hear of amounts to no less than a determined pattern of repeated and significant assaults – on a completely defenceless and young child."

Jurors heard Kyrell suffered a catalogue of injuries before his death on 20 October which were only discovered during his post-mortem examination.

Mr Brown continued: "In addition to the five broken ribs likely to have been inflicted when he was injured so badly that the injuries killed him, he was found to have a total of 36 further rib fractures that had been caused in the days and weeks leading up to his death.

"Some indeed were re-fractures of the same ribs.

"And it will be no surprise that the effect of these injuries would have been real pain, not only on their infliction, of course, but also pain and discomfort after and following each violent episode."

Jurors heard the couple were in a relationship at the time, although Brown was not Kyrell's father.

Kyrell did not attend nursery, so was in the full-time care of Shirley at the time.

As Brown allegedly spent the majority of his time at the mum and toddler's flat, sleeping over regularly, he had "constant and consistent care" of the child.

"It is the prosecution case that the injuries were inflicted on that very young child by the defendants Phylesia Shirley or Kemar Brown or both of them," Mr Brown said.

Shirley, of Thornton Heath, South London, denies murder but admitted allowing the death of a child and allowing serious physical harm to a child.

Brown, of Thornton Heath, denies murder, causing or allowing the death of a child and causing or allowing serious physical harm to a child.

The trial continues.

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