He Shouldn’t Even Have Been In Her Home to Begin With!- The Story of Leiland James Corkill

He Shouldn’t Even Have Been In Her Home to Begin With!- The Story of Leiland James Corkill

They wanted to have another child, but undergoing IVF treatment again wasn’t an option right now for them financially, so they decided that adopting would be their best option. After undergoing multiple evaluations and classes, they were finally approved to adopt. But these two people would turn out to be the kind of people who should never, ever be able to adopt any child.

I just wanted to say that I appreciate all the kind words and condolences about my sister on the last video; I very much appreciate that. The story I have for you today is about a baby boy who was removed from his home and put into a much worse home, and it’s up for debate if he ever should have been removed from his home in the first place. This is a frustrating one, guys. This is the story of Leiland James Corkill.

Leiland James Corkill was born on December 21st, 2019, in Whitehaven, Cumbria County, England, to his mother, Laura Corkill. He also had two older siblings. Leiland was said to be a happy-go-lucky baby with the most infectious laugh. He also had the cutest smile, chubby adorable cheeks, and big blue eyes. So, after Leiland James was born at the West Cumberland Hospital, his mother was told that he would not be going home with her. When Leiland was only 48 hours old, he was put into the care of Social Services.

Now, Cumbria Social Services said that they had told Laura Corkill three times prior to Leiland’s birth that they planned to remove him from her custody because they thought she could not meet the baby’s needs. Laura said that they never told her this, and she didn’t even receive any paperwork until the day that they actually took Leiland away from her.

Now, the reason that Social Services had taken Leiland out of his mother’s care was because, years prior, she had had her older children taken away from her as well. Laura Corkill had actually been in an abusive relationship, and when she tried to end that relationship and called the police to have him removed from the home, they also called Social Services and had her children removed as well. This sent Laura Corkill into a terrible mental state, and she didn’t even want to exist anymore at some points. But then she became pregnant with Leiland, and she turned a new leaf. Laura was excited to become a mom again, and she wasn’t in a relationship at the time.

Now, a few months prior to Leiland’s birth, a social worker went over to Laura Corkill’s home to check out where the baby would be living, and she was impressed with all the preparations that Laura had made for her new little boy. She even complimented the nursery that she had set up. The agent would go on to reassure Laura that she didn’t think there was any way her new baby would be taken away from her, as everything seemed to be in order. But then, the first social worker was replaced with another one, and this one was not so nice to Laura.

Now, Laura was extremely open about her past abusive relationship, and she had passed several parenting classes. She was pretty much jumping through hoops to make sure that Social Services did not take away her new baby from her. So, it came as a complete surprise when Leiland James, her new baby boy, was taken away from her at only two days old. And for the next year, Laura Corkill would fight to try to get him back, but unfortunately, that would never happen.

Once Leiland James was taken away from his biological mother, he was placed into his new foster home with his new foster mom, Charlotte Day. She said that while he was there, he was happy, giggly, and loved to play.

Now, Laura Corkill was getting visitation with her son four times a week, and she made sure that she went to every single one. She adored being around him. She even asked Social Services if they could extend her visitation times, though that was denied. And then, in March 2020, during the nation’s first lockdown due to COVID, she was no longer allowed to see Leiland. She had to do video calls with her little boy instead, and she believes that Social Services used this against her and made it seem like she did not want to visit her son as much, when she was desperate to see him and get him back.

Then, shortly after this, in July of 2020, Social Services informed Laura Corkill that her son, Leiland James, would be going up for adoption. So the following month, in August of 2020, 8-month-old Leiland James was placed with 38-year-old Laura Castle and her husband, 35-year-old Scott Castle. They were a couple from Barrow, and they also had an older biological daughter who lived in the home. They had been approved for adoption by an adoption panel after they had completed an 8-month assessment, and there had been no concerns raised about their suitability to be adoptive parents. Apparently, Scott and Laura’s biological daughter was conceived via multiple IVF treatments, but now money did not allow for that, so they decided that adopting would be their best option.

But within days of the Castles taking Leiland into their home, Laura Castle would begin to struggle. She even had family members come over to help out with the little boy. And yes, Leiland’s biological mother has the same name as his adoptive mother; they’re both Laura.

In November of 2020, a social worker went to the Castle home, and she reported that she had concerns that Laura Castle was not bonding with the little boy. In fact, Laura had told her that she did not love Leiland, and this is not unusual in adoptions. However, the next few things that Laura told the social service agent were unusual. Laura told this social worker that Leiland did not like to stand, and he was just lazy and big. Laura Castle also said she felt like she was only babysitting the little boy, and when the agent brought up the possibility of removing Leiland from the home, Laura Castle said, “No, the extended family loves him, so he is staying.”

Then, the following month in December 2020, a review took place of Leiland’s placement, and the Castles were told that they would not be able to permanently adopt Leiland unless further therapeutic work was undertaken. However, the pair remained determined to go ahead with the process, and a care planning meeting with social workers was recommended for the new year.

But that meeting would never happen. Because on January 6th, 2021, around 8:15 p.m., Laura Castle would call 911 and request an ambulance to the residence. She said that 13-month-old Leiland James was unresponsive and was struggling to breathe. She said he had injured his head by falling off of the sofa. But once the paramedics arrived at the home, they immediately became suspicious of Laura’s story because Leiland had not only gone into cardiac arrest, but he also had a brain bleed, which would not be caused by falling off of a sofa.

Leiland James was rushed to the nearby hospital, Furness General Hospital. He was then later transported to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, where he was put on life support. Sadly, there was no saving the little boy, and Leiland James died the following day on January 7th, 2021.

Laura Castle maintained to police, as well as family and friends, that the little boy’s death had been a tragic accident that had happened while her husband, who was a night shift worker, had been sleeping. “And I just stood up like that, I went right… and he fell on the floor… You admitted that you had previously slapped or tapped Leiland James? You shake your head.”

Leiland had only been with them for five months before he died. And Leiland’s biological mother, Laura Corkill, was contacted on the day that he was sent to the hospital. Unfortunately, they did not give her the name of the hospital that her son was brought to, and she did not find out until around 24 hours later. When Laura Corkill found out the hospital that Leiland was at, she rushed down there. But unfortunately, by the time she got there, it was too late and Leiland Corkill was already dead, and his body was needed for evidence. So Laura Corkill was not even allowed to hold her little boy one last time.

Leiland Corkill had died from massive injuries to his brain, spine, and eyes. The pathologist who conducted the postmortem exam said that the degree of force that would have been inflicted on Leiland to cause these injuries would have been significant. The pathologist said that many of his injuries were consistent with assault, and the bruising to his head and face were consistent with pinching, slapping, prodding, and poking. There was also a wound on his lips that had been caused by Laura Castle shoving a bottle forcefully into his mouth out of anger, and not to comfort him like she would say she had.

Laura Castle was arrested and charged with murder and child cruelty. Scott Castle was also arrested, and he was charged with causing or allowing a person’s death, as well as child cruelty.

Apparently, Laura Castle had told a public health-commissioned therapist during one of her talk therapy sessions that she struggled with anger management, as well as depression and anxiety. Laura also told this therapist that she was often irritable and short-tempered. She also said that she would yell at her daughter too much, and it was discovered that Laura drank six bottles of wine every week, and her husband Scott drank pretty close to the same.

On top of all this, the couple had financial issues. They had loads of debt and were clearly struggling, which begs the question: Did they want to adopt Leiland to add a new member to their family, or did they want to adopt the little boy to get that monthly paycheck?

So, all of this critical information that Laura Castle had disclosed was not sent over to her general practitioner, which meant that the adoption panel did not have this information at the time that they made their decision. And of course, Laura Castle didn’t tell the adoption panel any of this information either, because she wanted to mislead them so she could adopt Leiland anyways.

Laura and Scott Castle would go to trial in May of 2022. And as I said, Laura Castle had maintained this entire time that his death was only an accident. That’s up until the day that the jury were sworn in for Laura and Scott’s trial. At that time, Laura pled guilty to manslaughter, because while she knew she had killed Leiland, she said she didn’t mean to.

Laura went on to tell the court that she had violently shaken the little boy that morning after breakfast because he would not stop crying, and his head had hit the armrest, which caused him to fall off of her lap onto the floor. However, medical experts told the court that the degree of force required to cause his injuries would have been severe, and would not have been caused by him falling into the armrest or falling off the couch. The court believed that Laura Castle had lost her temper and smashed the back of Leiland’s head into a hard object, such as a piece of furniture.

Of course, Laura Castle had previously assured social workers that she did not physically punish the little boy—as you shouldn’t, ’cause he’s a baby. However, her abuse towards Leiland was detailed in many text messages between her and her husband, Scott.

In one text message, Laura Castle refers to Leiland as a “proper knobhead,” a “[expletive],” and a “dick.” He’s a baby! While her husband would call him a “fat [expletive],” a “knobhead,” and a “toss bag.” Some of these text messages showed that while Scott was not abusing Leiland himself, he knew about the abuse, and he was actively encouraging it.

Text messages from September 23rd, 2020, revealed that Laura Castle had texted her husband, who was working the night shift at the time, saying: “I honestly really don’t like him. He’s an absolute moaning whine bag and I totally regret doing this.” She carried on saying: “I’m going to lose my mind. He just pisses me off all the time. I can never have just a nice day or night ever.”

Another text message from Laura Castle that day read: “Although I need to stop smacking him, ’cause if I start I won’t stop and it’s not getting anywhere, and I feel bad.” Did you, though? Because if you felt bad, you would have stopped instead of continuing until he was dead, Laura.

The next day, she messaged her husband again, saying: “I’ve absolutely leathered him. I can’t take it anymore. He’s going to have to go.” To which Scott replied: “Right, okay baby. He’s really ruined it. At least we tried.”

And the day after that, there were even more hateful messages shared between the two. Laura texted Scott saying: “I’ve just leathered him again. I don’t want to do this. I’m seriously at my wits’ end. Nobody tells you about this [expletive].” Hmm, that’s weird, because I always hear people talking about how babies cry, but apparently Laura Castle didn’t get that memo. She then goes on to say: “I’m just an abusive parent, it seems.” And Scott’s reply: “You’re not an abusive parent, baby, not at all. Don’t say that. He’s just a little too effed up for us to handle. Let’s just call it quits. I don’t want you to have a mental breakdown. You’re more important to me than him.”

So at the time these text messages were sent, Leiland was less than a year old, and they’re talking about him like he’s an adult that they hate. Like, hello, he’s a baby! And then in court, Laura Castle tried to say that these text messages should not be taken seriously because that was just her sense of humor.

Also during the trial, one of the Castles’ neighbors, Mrs. Lloyd, testified. She said that her and her family would constantly hear Laura screaming, as well as a slapping sound and a child crying. And another neighbor said that she had heard Laura Castle shouting countless times, and it was mostly just swears. She added, “You would hear the most horrible things,” and the regularity of the noises only increased up until Leiland’s death.

And when the prosecutor asked Mrs. Lloyd if she had ever contacted the authorities after hearing this, she said no. And that’s something that’s not sitting right with me. When asked why not, she said that she did not want to have an awkward situation between her and the Castles.

And Mrs. Lloyd’s daughter, Ellie, also testified. She said that she often heard Laura Castle screaming for between 5 to 10 minutes at a time. She said that two days before Leiland died on January 4th, she heard Laura Castle shouting and screaming along with throwing toys. And on the day that Leiland was injured, January 6th, she said that she heard a very loud bang, like something had been dropped on the floor.

And Charlotte Day, Leiland James’s previous foster mom who had fostered him since he was only two days old, said that her and her family were absolutely devastated. She also went on to say that she’s not sure if she even wants to be a foster mom anymore because she doesn’t know if she can trust adoptive parents. She also told the court that Leiland was a content and happy boy who also loved to play, be carried, and cuddled, which was in stark contrast to what Laura Castle had said. She claimed that Leiland was whiny, cried all the time, and resisted affection. Maybe he resisted affection from you ’cause he knew you were a monster.

Here are some videos of Leiland in Laura Castle’s home with her shushing him: “You getting all hot?”

In an attempt to defend his client, Laura Castle’s lawyer said that he knew she was struggling with her husband working nights, as well as the lockdown. He also said that there were good days and Leiland was clearly loved by the Castles. He also said it was not the gratuitous kind of abuse that you would see in headlines, and the judge agreed. But like it matters? Leiland’s dead regardless, so who cares what kind of abuse it was? They abused him and killed him. Or Laura did, and dumbass just stood by and let it happen—I mean Scott, excuse me. And Scott Castle would say that he knew his wife was struggling, but he did not think that she would harm the little boy. Oh, really, Scott? Even after those text messages that we just heard?

And Laura Castle wept loudly throughout the trial, especially when Leiland’s biological mother, Laura Corkill, read her statement and called Laura Castle an absolute monster. Laura Corkill said that her son had been taken away from her because of the risk of emotional and physical harm, but he had actually suffered all of this at the hands of his adoptive mother. She went on to say: “I was told he would have a good life and I was fine with that. Now I am broken. I can honestly say this would have never happened if he was with me. Now an innocent life has been cut short. It breaks me that I will never see his face again.” And Laura Corkill went on to beg the judge to give Laura Castle the maximum sentence.

Following the two-and-a-half-week trial, jurors took just under 3 hours to come up with their verdict. They found Scott Castle not guilty, and he was cleared of all of his charges. Yep, Scott Castle got off with nothing, even though he had known about the abuse and was encouraging it.

Now, Laura Castle was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 18 years. The judge also sentenced her to 21 months for the child cruelty charge to be served concurrently. He said that Laura Castle was a horrible human being and a manipulative liar. Now, what exactly happened to Leiland James on January 6th is still unknown, as Laura Castle seriously underplayed the violence that had been inflicted on the little boy. And apparently, while in prison, Laura Castle has been isolated and ostracized, but she only has herself to blame for that.

Now believe it or not, after Leiland’s death, Social Services still tried to take the lead. They wanted to have Leiland cremated, and they tried to write his eulogy. However, this time, his biological mother Laura Corkill fought even harder. She said, “They tried to control me 100%, but it didn’t work. They tried to make me forget I was a mother, but no one can take that away from me.” And Laura Corkill said about him: “Leiland James liked kisses and snuggles and always fell asleep in my arms. My son Leiland James Corkill was a happy wee boy. He always had a bright beaming smile, a smile that would brighten days even on my worst days. He is my sunshine. My son Leiland James visits in my dreams. He will always be by my side, safe forever now within my heart.”

Well, thank you for listening to all of Leiland James’s story today. This case is frustrating, and in my opinion, he should have never been taken away from his biological mother to begin with. She had turned her life around from the person that she was years ago, and she seemed to be doing everything right. So why did they not only take him away but try to adopt him out as well? It makes no sense to me.

And this also reminds me of the case that I did on Buu Vaughn, because his mother Danielle also turned her life around but was continually ignored up until it was too late and her son was dead. And speaking of Buu, I’ve actually been in contact with his mother, Danielle, and I’ve been trying to do anything I can to help her because she has received no justice. No one’s been punished for his death. And on Christmas Eve, it’ll be four years since Buu died, and I’ve been emailing, messaging, and calling the governor of New Hampshire, Governor Chris Sununu, only to be ignored.

So if you want to help Danielle in trying to get some justice for Buu, I was thinking that if a whole bunch of people start writing to Governor Sununu, then he won’t be able to ignore everybody. So write him a letter and let him know that Buu Vaughn, the 5-year-old who was killed in his state, needs justice still. Danielle is a very sweet person, and she and her son did not deserve any of this, just like Laura Corkill and Leiland.