Dad who punched 11-year-old son to death claimed he fell from tree while playing hide and seek

A dad who waited almost four hours to call an ambulance after punching his 11-year-old son to death, then lying about it, has been jailed for life.

Michael Harrison, 41, attacked his son Mikey on the morning of 18 June last year and then attempted to cover up his assault by driving his son to a country park where he rang 999. Sadly Mikey could not be saved and later died in hospital.

Derby Crown Court heard that Mr Harrison repeatedly punched Mikey, who weighed 3st 11lb, at his home in Derbyshire, which caused a fatal laceration to his liver.

Mr Harrison then drove to Heanor’s Shipley Country Park where he called for an ambulance from his van and falsely told paramedics that Mikey had fallen from a tree in the park while the pair were playing hide and seek.

The 999 call came almost four hours after the attack, in which time Mikey could have been saved if he had received prompt treatment. The reason for the 41-year-old’s attack on Mikey has never been revealed.

Prosecutor Peter Joyce KC told the court that Mr Harrison spoke to police that day “as a witness” into what was then described as “the accidental death of his son”. The prosecutor added: “His first account was that he had been in Shipley Country Park when Mikey had fallen from a tree.”

But inquiries later established that “this entire account was a fiction made up by the defendant to cover up the fact that he himself had fatally injured his son”.

Following the assault, the court heard that Mr Harrison stripped the Heanor property where he and Mikey had been living “of almost every item that you would expect to find in a home”. Mr Joyce alleged that the 41-year-old had also cleaned the scene of the attack to remove any prospect of any evidence being found in relation to what he had done to Mikey.

It was found that Mickey had received “many blows to many areas of his body” and in the opinion of an expert who had studied the evidence, he may well have been saved with prompt and appropriate medical treatment, the court heard.

Mr Harrison initially denied murder before later admitting to manslaughter, which the prosecution did not accept. Eventually, with the weight of evidence against him clear, he made a sudden decision last month to plead guilty, admitting that he murdered his son.

He was handed a life sentence at Derby Crown Court on Thursday (18 May) and must serve at least 21 years and six months in prison before he is eligible for parole. A further charge of engaging in coercive and controlling behaviour was ordered to lie on file.

Passing sentence, Judge Shaun Smith KC told Harrison: “At 18 minutes past one on Saturday June 18 you embarked upon a charade solely intended to protect yourself. That was because you had attacked your 11-year-old son Mikey. You hit and punched him many times. At least one of those blows was so hard it lacerated his liver.

“Rather than face up to what you had done, you made a call to the ambulance service to report that Mikey had fallen out of a tree. What you did that morning ended the life of a little boy and emptied the lives of many others.”

The judge added that what happened during the assault was a result of Mr Harrison “going crazy” as he damaged furniture and caused multiple blunt force injuries to Mikey.

Detective Inspector Paul Bullock, of Derbyshire Constabulary, Mikey was killed “by the very person that he should have been safest with”. He added: “Michael Harrison has never given an account for why he killed Mikey but his conduct on the day of the tragic events makes it abundantly clear that his primary interest was his own freedom and not the life of his own son.

“We now know the truth, that Mikey was killed by Harrison after a brutal assault that left him with the most serious of injuries. Harrison a strong, fully grown man would have been under no illusion that Mikey was anything other than seriously injured.

“Instead of seeking the medical help that he clearly, so badly needed, he attempted to concoct a story that Mikey had fallen from a tree in a nearby park. Even driving there to ring the ambulance service in an attempt to make his story believable.

“The fact Mikey’s life was tragically cut short at the hands of someone who was meant to love and care for him, is heart-breaking and unfathomable. It has left his family utterly devastated and I would like to personally thank them for their strength and courage during this harrowing investigation.

Defence barrister Vanessa Marshall KC said Mr Harrison would have to bear the “awful, tragic, unforgivable” death of his son for the rest of his life.

Submitting that Mikey’s death was the result of an “isolated outburst of gratuitous violence”, Ms Marshall claimed Mr Harrison had cleared out the property amid safety concerns, having been kidnapped and stabbed by a gang in 2006.

After he was sentenced, Mr Harrison, wearing a white T-shirt with “FAMILY” printed on the front, gestured towards members of the media and said: “I will always love my family no matter what you lot say. Put whatever version you like.”