Mum and boyfriend jailed over fatal attack on son, 2, that left him brain damaged

A mum and her boyfriend have been sentenced to a combined 28 years in jail for inflicting injuries on her son as severe as those seen in car crashes.

Kol Page, two, was found not breathing, with bruises over his face and an injury to his abdomen, in April 2022.

His mum, Zoe Coutts, and her boyfriend, Scott O’Connor, tried to lie to medics and detectives about the cause of Kol’s injuries.

He spent two years trying to recover after suffering catastrophic brain damage, leaving him needing round-the-clock care.

His foster parents moved into the hospital with him, but he died two years later in June 2024.

Kol’s foster parents said: ‘He was in so much pain. He would cry out in pain so much. You could hear him from the lifts as you walked into the hospital.

‘It was so hard to comfort him, I wanted to cuddle him but it would cause him too much pain.’

They added: ‘I immediately fell in love with him. I knew he needed someone to be there for him, to protect him.

‘I see him as my child; I may not have given birth to him, but I see him as my son. I am blessed to have been able to have looked after Kol for the time I did.’

Kol was subjected to escalating violence while in the care of his mother and her partner.

Prosecutors said the extent of his injuries was usually ‘seen in a serious road traffic accident or a fall from a height onto a hard object’.

O’Connor, 36, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to 18 years’ imprisonment.

Coutts, 35, was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment.

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 boyfriend, O’Connor, tried to deceive paramedics, doctors and police officers, repeating lie after lie about how Kol came to be so seriously injured.

‘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.’

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