Ex-Boyfriend Found Guilty of Manslaughter in Tragic Death of Four-Year-Old Boy
A woman's former partner has been convicted of manslaughter following the death of her four-year-old son after what prosecutors described as escalating and horrific abuse. Scott O'Connor, aged 36, was found guilty of the manslaughter of Kol Page, while the boy's mother, Zoe Coutts, 35, was convicted of causing or allowing the death of a child.
Emergency Response and Catastrophic Injuries
Police were alerted by the London Ambulance Service at 09:44 on Monday, 25 April 2022, to reports of a child not breathing at Downham Way in Bromley. When paramedics arrived, they discovered Kol without a pulse and with significant bruising to his head and face. He was rushed to hospital, where doctors identified serious internal injuries consistent with punching, kicking, or stamping.
Kol sustained catastrophic brain damage and severe disabilities, requiring round-the-clock care. He spent fourteen months in hospital before moving to live with a devoted foster family. Tragically, two years later, on Saturday, 29 June 2024, he died from his injuries.
Trial and Verdicts at Southwark Crown Court
The pair stood trial at Southwark Crown Court, accused of murdering Kol, who died at age four from injuries inflicted in April 2022. On Wednesday, jurors cleared them of murder but convicted Coutts of causing or allowing the death of a child and O'Connor, her boyfriend at the time, of manslaughter. The verdicts came after ten hours and forty-five minutes of deliberation, with sentencing scheduled for a later date.
Evidence of Escalating Abuse and Deception
During the trial, jurors were shown text messages between the couple, including an exchange on the morning of 20 April 2022. Coutts messaged O'Connor to say Kol had been "whinging," and O'Connor replied, "Jesus slap him back to sleep lol." Prosecutors alleged that from March to April 2022, Kol suffered bruising of escalating severity.
The court heard that between 11 and 25 March 2022, O'Connor was present at Coutts' home on eleven occasions, staying overnight at least seven times. On the evening of 24 April, the pair went to bed with Kol sleeping in a cot alongside their bed. Neither defendant suggested anything unusual happened that night.
The following morning, Coutts described Kol as wriggly and "pretty chesty," suggesting phlegm might have caused him to be sick. Emergency services were later called, and Kol was taken to hospital, where surgery revealed three injuries to his small bowel. Prosecutors alleged these injuries resulted from significant force to the abdomen, such as a punch, kick, or stamp.
Defendants' Statements and Social Services Involvement
In interviews, O'Connor claimed Kol's injuries were self-inflicted, stating the toddler was "very clumsy" and had fallen from his cot onto toy bricks. Coutts denied ever hurting her son, tearfully telling the jury, "I would never hit him, at all, ever." When asked to explain the injuries, she said, "With everything I've seen, with the evidence, it must have been Scott, and there's evidence to prove it."
Coutts also told the jury she never saw O'Connor being violent toward her son, though she canceled social services visits at times when photos showed Kol had significant bruising. Messages between her and O'Connor included exchanges of pictures of Kol's injuries and jokes about hurting him.
Prosecution and Police Response
Richard Murrison from the Crown Prosecution Service stated, "Our thoughts, first and foremost, remain with Kol and everyone who knew and loved him. He was a little boy who, like all children, deserved to be safe, loved, and protected. It is devastating that he was failed in the worst possible way by the very people who should have cared for him most."
He added, "The evidence in this case painted a deeply disturbing picture of the escalating abuse Kol suffered in his own home. Zoe Coutts' then partner, Scott O'Connor, was responsible for subjecting Kol to the horrific abuse which left him profoundly disabled and ultimately led to his death, and she took no action to stop or report it, allowing it to happen."
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."
She continued, "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. 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."
