Man sentenced for killing girlfriend's toddler son

An "evil" drug user who killed his girlfriend's toddler son was jailed for six years today.

Strict disciplinarian Wayne Davenport, 26, spent months punishing two-year-old Joshua Jones after meeting his mother in July 2007.

By November he had moved into the home in Tilbury Place, Runcorn, Cheshire, and had inflicted a horrific catalogue of abuse on the boy.

In the evening of November 6 Joshua's mother, Nichola Bowman, 24, went out for a drink leaving her son alone with Davenport who was smoking cannabis.

Bowman knew Joshua was scared of Davenport and that the O2 worker regularly abused him.

Yet she did nothing about it - she even lied to authorities investigating her son's treatment.

That night Davenport - who has a history of violence - flew into a rage when the youngster woke up. He deliberately beat him.

Joshua was taken to hospital where he died from a swollen brain.

But when medics examined his body they found injuries including Davenport's teeth marks on his arm, two fractured ribs and bruises to his penis, back, thighs and knees.

Just a week before his death, Joshua was discharged from Warrington General Hospital with a double broken left arm - which Davenport caused.

Today, Davenport remained silent when he was jailed at Chester Crown Court.

It was very different from his first appearance when he was remanded by magistrates, burst into tears and shouted he wanted his "mum".

Davenport was convicted in July of manslaughter and Bowman was convicted of "causing or allowing" her son's death.

Today, she walked free with the judge Mr Justice Ouseley saying she was "a victim".

He jailed her for six months but suspended it for two years.