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A young mum's boyfriend has been found guilty of battering her 13-month-old baby to death during a drink and drugs binge.

Hardeep Hunjan, 27, beat little Noah Serra-Morrison so severely his body looked like a car crash victim.

The sickening assault happened at the flat where he lived with the child and his mum, 22-year-old Ronnie Tayler-Morrison.

Noah was found dead after suffering 15 fractures to his body, including a 6in wound across his skull medical experts said were similar to those found in a traffic accidents.

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The jury acquitted mother Tayler-Morrison of the murder but found her guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16.

She told the jury on the night her son died that she had passed out and came around with her boyfriend telling her Noah had fallen out of his cot.

Hunjan was also convicted of cruelty to a person under 16.

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Both had said the other was responsible for Noah's murder at the flat they all shared in Luton, Bedfordshire.

After his death from a massive head injury – which caused his skull to fracture – Hunjan claimed the toddler had toppled out of his tiny cot in his bedroom, resulting in the 15cm wound across his skull.

But medical experts who examined the child's body concluded that his injuries were so severe, they were similar to those likely to be found in a car crash.

During the trial, the jury saw shocking pictures of the couple's "chaotic" lifestyle which was fuelled by drinking and drug taking.

Video shows couple smoking cannabis hours before murder

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Noah's death at the hands of his mother's unemployed, drug-taking boyfriend came after he had endured weeks of violence, in which he suffered 15 fractured bones in his arms, legs and left foot.

Noah's father, Stefano Coiana, said in a statement after the verdicts: "When Noah was alive he made my life happy. It wasn't his job to make me happy but he did. He did it by just being here.

"He completed my life - he made life worth being here, worth waking up in the morning and worth trying again and again even when I failed."

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He described Noah as "the most important thing to me", adding: "I had someone that loved me and I loved him.

"It was good to love Noah. He loved me unconditionally - what can you say to describe how that feels? It was just so very, very good. I don't see a lot in my future without him."

Detectives were told Noah's injuries were likely to have been caused by the child being deliberately and violently swung against a wall or floor or by his limbs being twisted with "severe force".

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The injuries could not have been caused accidentally, they were told

Had he survived, the little boy would have been severely brain damaged.

Following the death of little Noah last November at the flat in Crawley Road, Luton, where he lived with his mother and Hunjan, detectives seized mobile phones from the couple.

The jury was told the iPhone belonging to Tayler-Morrison was painstakingly examined.

Detective Constable Solomon Beere was tasked with going though text messages, photos and video clips on the phone.

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He told the court how he found one photograph on the phone, dated July 8 of last year, which showed Tayler-Morrison posing with a handful of herbal cannabis.

The officer then told the jury how he discovered one photo, which was dated September 20, which showed an 11-month-old Noah with a cannabis joint behind his right ear.

He found video clips showing the couple smoking cannabis.

On the night of November 19, with baby Noah just hours from death, Hunjan was filmed smoking three joints at once through a home made tube.

Reggae music could be heard playing in the background and Tayler-Morrison then joined in to smoke the joints through the tube.

Both were shown smiling broadly and, at one point, Hunjan could be heard laughing hysterically at Tayler-Morrison as she appeared to drift off to sleep.

Noah was born in October 2014 and originally lived in a flat with his biological dad and Taylor-Morrison in Northolt, Middlesex.

But, in early 2015, her relationship with Mr Coiana finished and she began a new one with her co-defendant, Hunjan, who was known as "H".

Giving evidence, Tayler-Morrison told the jury: "He was excellent with Noah. He was a proper kid's person - he was good with babies. He wasn't a typical Asian. We smoked and drank and we liked to go out. We were outgoing people."

Hunjan, who had been raised in a Sikh family, was known to have a temper and had been to prison for violence. He had convictions for grievous bodily harm and assault.

He drank and regularly smoked cannabis, which he bought in bulk, selling quantities to friends and using the money he made to buy more.

The court heard by last summer there were frequent arguments in the household.

Prosecutor Jane Bickerstaff QC said the couple's relationship was fuelled by alcohol and cannabis and based on "love, jealousy and control".

One entry police found in her diary read: "I don't see life without him and as much as this sounds selfish, I know that I love Noah, but I love Hardeep more."

Asked in the witness box about the picture of her son with the cannabis behind his ear that had been found on her phone, Tayler-Morrison who said her parents were on Indian heritage, told the court: "It is a spliff. It is a photo. It didn't mean nothing. There was no purpose behind it."

She said the photo was not a mark of disrespect to Noah and she thought her partner, who she called H, took the picture.

The court heard the three briefly lived in Hull before Tayler-Morrison got a two bedroom flat in Luton.

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Hunjan quickly moved in with her and Noah and soon they had acquired a dog, a Bulldog-Mastiff cross. Neighbours frequently heard the couple arguing, walls banging and a baby crying.

He had been arrested for causing grievous bodily harm on a woman neighbour and was having to sign on regularly at Luton Police Station.

In Luton, the mother wanted little to do with health visitors for her son. One had to cold call on her at the flat, having been made aware of Noah's arrival in Luton.

The mother and her lover were told the crib they had for him was too small.

Two weeks before his death, Noah's grandmother - who was the mother of his real father - noticed a massive bruise on the child's face.

Maria Serra said it ran from his temple, down his face and under his chin.

She told the court that when she questioned Tayler-Morrison, she was told the dog had jumped on the boy and scratched him while playing.

On the early evening of Friday, November 20, Hunjan took the child with him to a nearby Sainsbury store where he bought vodka for him and Tayler-Morrison.

Later that evening, he went out on his own to buy a litre bottle of vodka and a pack of ice.

Back at their flat, they were drinking and smoking cannabis.

Tayler-Morrison told the jury she had three glasses of vodka and smoked a number of joints.

She said she couldn't remember anything until Hunjan woke her and told her he had found Noah out of his cot and lying in the floor.

He told the court Tayler-Morrison had been "mashed" that night as they lay on the floor of their lounge drinking, smoking cannabis and listening to music.

Hunjan said he left her on the floor late that night while he went out to a local chicken shop to buy a takeaway meal.

When he returned he said she was still lying on the floor but when he went to check on Noah he found the child out of his cot and lying on the floor with his right eye "half closed" and black dots visible on his forehead and a red mark under his nose.

Despite Noah's injuries, the couple delayed calling for an ambulance for nearly an hour and a quarter.

During that time, Tayler-Morrison used her phone to search the Internet, googling the search terms "My baby is hurt" and "'My baby is breathing but not moving".

Hunjan took the toddler under a shower in an attempt to wash away any forensic evidence, said the prosecutor.

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When Tayler-Morrison eventually made the 999 call to the ambulance service and told the operator down the phone that her son wasn't breathing after falling out of his cot, she was given instructions on how to administer mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR.

When the first ambulance crew was eventually called to the flat at around 3.30am on the morning of Saturday, November 21, Tayler-Morrison claimed Noah had fallen from his cot.

His heart had stopped beating and he wasn't breathing.

The boy was rushed to hospital but pronounced dead at 4.10am that morning.

A doctor told police officers who had arrived at the hospital that the explanation given by the mother for the injuries to the boy were "suspicious" and not consistent with a fall from a cot.

When police officers went to the flat shortly afterwards, Hunjan was found hiding under a duvet in the kitchen and arrested.

The pair will be sentenced tomorrow afternoon after a six-week trial at Luton Crown Court.

Family statement in full:

Dad Stefano Coiana said:

"When Noah was alive he made my life happy. It wasn't his job to make me happy but he did. He did it by just being here.

"He completed my life - he made life worth being here, worth waking up in the morning and worth trying again and again even when I failed.

"I had someone that loved me and I loved him.

"It was good to love Noah. He loved me unconditionally - what can you say to describe how that feels? It was just so very, very good. I don't see a lot in my future without him."

Noah's paternal grandmother, Maria Serra, said:

"He was very cheeky, enjoyed music, liked being sung to and all that is good in life you could find in the expressions on Noah's face.

"Noah was affectionate and his affections for the people in his life knew no limits."

Noah's maternal grandmother, Varsha Patel, said:

"His early departure has left a massive void in our lives as he was loved by all of us.

"Nolly will be greatly missed but never forgotten. He will always remain in our hearts forever and ever. Our loss, heaven's gain."