Father Sentenced to 20 Years for Son's Murder

A Co Armagh man who shook his baby son so violently that it caused “catastrophic” brain injuries was today (Thursday) told he will spend the next 20 years behind bars for the child’s murder.

Conviction and Sentencing
Lewis Oliver Rowland sustained life-changing brain injuries in November 2015 and was left with a range of disabilities when he was just 13 weeks old. He died in October 2018 in his foster mother’s arms aged three from complications arising from surgery to insert a feeding tube into his stomach. His 29-year-old father Craig Rowland, from Millington Park in Portadown, denied murdering his son. He stood trial last October and at the conclusion of an often harrowing four-week trial, the jury of eight men and four women convicted him on a charge of murder.

On Refusing Responsibility
The child killer was back in Belfast Crown Court today where the 20-year tariff imposed by Mr Justice O’Hara who revealed that despite the jury’s verdict, Rowland continues to refuse to accept responsibility for what he did and has blamed medical staff for his son’s death.

Co-Defendant's Sentencing
Also sentenced today was Lewis’s mother Laura Graham, who is 32 and from Edward Street in Lurgan. Prior to the murder trial, both she and Rowland admitted a charge of wilfully neglecting their son on November 20, 2015 by failing to obtain timely medical treatment. Graham was handed a combination order consisting of three years Probation and 100 hours community service for the child cruelty charge. On that same charge, Rowland had 12-month sentence imposed which will run concurrently with the 20-year tariff.

Investigation and Conclusions
Reacting to the news, PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Kerrie Foreman from the Police Service’s Major Investigation Team said: “Baby Lewis, at just three months old, was admitted to hospital in November 2015 with catastrophic injuries... ...Lewis was just three years old when his young life was cut short.”

After Lewis sustained his initial injuries he was taken into the care of a foster family. The care, attention and kindness, which this family gave to Lewis, are in stark contrast to the cruelty demonstrated by his own father. My thoughts are with the foster family and those loved ones who continue to grieve, and indeed with all who have been touched by the sadness of the murder of young Lewis Rowland.

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