Yahoo News 'A gross abuse of trust': Shameless Blackpool dad shows no emotion as he's jailed for brutal murder of 'helpless son'
A tattoo artist who murdered his two-year-old son has been jailed for life.
Daniel Hardcastle, 31, must serve a minimum of 22 year before he is eligible to apply for parole. Hardcastle was convicted of murder after a jury at Preston Crown Court heard harrowing details of catastrophic injuries he inflicted on his son on the morning of August 19, 2023. Emergency services were called to the flat in Central Drive, to find Damion covered in bruises and in a state of cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Damion was placed in the care of his father following a 12 month assessment period. The little boy had been removed from his mother at 10 months old and placed with foster parents, but following a DNA test which confirmed he was the father, Hardcastle applied for custody.
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The pair moved to a flat in Central Drive, Blackpool, with support from family members, social workers and a mental health charity Dad Matters. Damion was allocated a nursery place and there was a playgroup across the road. However in the weeks before Damion died, Hardcastle's mum was taken into hospital and the father began drinking. On several occasions he visited local shops to buy alcohol, leaving his son alone in the flat.
On August 19, 2023, Hardcastle called 999 reporting his son had fallen on a coffee table while playing. Police and paramedics rushed to the flat bit were instantly sceptical about the account Hardcastle gave. Attempts had been made to clean blood from the floor and bloodstained clothes and bedding had been placed in bin bags and the washing machine.
Scans and a post mortem confirmed Damion had suffered a litany of injuries over at least three days before the serious head injury which resulted in his death. Among them were a bite mark to his leg, which Hardcastle claimed he had caused during 'rough play' a week earlier. However experts said Damion must have been in agony and screaming as a result of the injury.
There were also a number of fractured ribs and a serious injury to Damion's mouth where is father had forced a "sippy cup" into his face, causing his lip to detach from his gum. Sentencing, Mrs Justice Hill said: "By assaulting Damion in this way you grossly abused your position of trust. You were Damion's father and he was in your sole care. He was a helpless child. It was your duty as his father to protect him, especially given the difficult start he had in life and his inability to rely on his mother to care for him."
Hardcastle sat in the dock with his head bowed as the judge passed sentence. He showed no emotion as he was led to the cells.
