Joshua Cook has today been found guilty of murdering a 22-month-old boy in his care.
Cook was 17-years-of-age when he sexually abused this little boy and then in a “sustained and violent” attack, killed him.
Little Charlie Johnson died from severe head injuries after being attacked by Cook at the child’s home in Scarborough, North Yorkshire in May 2007.
A jury took just over two hours to unanimously find evil Cook guilty of the murder, and the toddler’s family cheered and applauded the verdict form the public gallery.
In a statement read out by the family liaison officer outside of the court, they said they felt “immense relief” that Cook had been convicted. “In court Joshua Cook failed to give an accurate account as to how or why he choose to end Charlie’s life. Whilst the guilty verdict helps to bring some closure, Cook’s failure to account for his actions has left the family with many unanswered questions about what happened to their son. Charlie was a bright, happy boy and a joy to be around. He has left a huge gap in the lives of his family, in particular his brother and sister who are struggling to come to terms with life without their baby brother.”
Cook, now 18-years-old, previously denied murder but admitted sexual assault and manslaughter. Sentencing has been adjourned for six weeks to allow for psychiatric and pre-sentence reports to be prepared.
Georgina Fisher, Charlie’s mother, had regularly arranged for Cook to babysit in the four months prior to the attack. On the 16th May 2007, Cook who was the son of a friend of Ms Fisher’s, arrived to look after Charlie for the day. Later that same afternoon, Cook was seen on the street carrying the child wrapped in a towel and looking agitated. When a neighbour asked him what was wrong, Cook cried “He’s dead. He’s dead.”
Charlie was taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, but died early the next morning while undergoing brain surgery. A pathologist told the jury that the toddler had a large blood clot over the surface of his brain. There was also extensive bruising to the body, bleeding around the eyes and evidence of sexual assault that would have caused “substantial pain”.
The Prosecuting barrister Bryan Cox QC, stated that deeper bruising suggested punching, kicking or “violent shaking”.
Here is a perfect example of why the death penalty should be reintroduced. How ever long he gets in prison is just not going to be enough for his vile actions. He sexually assaulted and then viciously attacked this innocent little child. It’s unbearable to think of the pain that little boy must have suffered and the pain that his family are going through still. This thug needs to have his life ended, he is a paedophile and a murderer.
5 comments so far
1 michael phelps // Apr 21, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Yes he should be killed, I agree but killing him would be too easy unless its a very torturous and horrible long and very painful death. God bless Charlie our hearts go out to you, words cannot express how horrible this mindless and totally evil attack is.
2 nikki // Apr 22, 2008 at 9:23 pm
he should be locked in a room full of people and have done to him what he did to that poor baby.rip charlie xx
3 sarah wallace // Apr 24, 2008 at 10:46 am
you cannot put into words how this pedophile and murderer makes you feel and how much of an impact this has had on the whole of scarborough. I know charlies family and they are all wonderful people who have been left with a huge whole in there hearts. bring back the death penalty for crimes like this against our children. we need to stand together and rid our world of this filth and protect our kids because if we dont who will. put that murderous peadophile in the electric chair and turn it up full even then that is too good for him he needs to suffer the same way poor charlie did. That child has been robbed of a life why should joshua cook keep his???? rest in peace now charlie love from the wallace family xx
4 blob // Apr 30, 2008 at 1:35 pm
yes i think we should kill him.
5 blob // Apr 30, 2008 at 1:51 pm
and quickly otherwise we are as bad as him no?
to expound the virtues of the death penalty for, im presuming, the charge of first degree or premeditated murder the electric chair is not the best symbol to use as it is more of a torture device and certainly not an efficient method of execution, those things can take 10s of minutes and even more to kill someone and to gain any prolonged sense of murderous satisfaction by the act of execution (a la nikkis solution) would kinda negate the reason you were killing him:- for killing someone in a murderous rage. a simple injection would suffice like they do to dogs that kill babies. put him down out of pity not in anger.