A stepfather has been found guilty of murdering a 10-month-old baby boy.

The boy’s mother Gemma Barton, 33, was found guilty of causing or allowing a child to die and two counts of child cruelty.

Jacob Crouch was born healthy on 17 February 2020 and died alone in his cot on 30 December 2020 at his home in Linton, near Swadlincote.

His stepfather Craig Crouch, 39, was accused of having caused up to 41 rib fractures to Jacob Crouch in at least five separate assaults, Derby Crown Court heard.

Expert evidence showed Jacob later contracted peritonitis – an infection of the lining of the abdominal organs – and died.