Finley Boden: Chesterfield dad denied he got angry when handed a sketch of the 130 injuries suffered by his dead son

The diagram had been made at Chesterfield Royal Hospital where Finley Boden was found to have 57 fractures among 130 injuries.

Stephen Boden, 30, was handed this by a police officer investigating the 10-month-old toddler's death on Christmas Day 2020.

When being cross-examined at Derby Crown Court, he rejected the suggestion that he threw it back at the officer during the interview.

Boden pleads not guilty to murder, manslaughter, causing or allowing the death of a child. Finley's mother Shannon Marsden, 21, denies the same charges and the trial continues.

She is defended by Andrew Vout KC, who read a police statement about when the sketch was handed to Boden. The officer added: "There's no need to throw it back."

Mr Vout told Boden: "You have still got a temper."

Boden said "no" and went on: "I flipped it back. I can't remember physically throwing it.

"I told him not to put it in front of me. I said 'I don't want to see anything about it at the time.'"

Mr Vout said: "You are throwing something at police officers investigating the murder of your son. What's your state of mind?"

Boden told him: "Probably hysterical, tired, not slept for like the whole night, for about 24 hours."

Mr Vout suggested it was a "tantrum" but he rejected this.

Boden said he had learned to control his emotions by attending a "thinking skills" course run by probation officers.

Earlier, he told a court that he may have rocked his baby son too vigorously.

In a statement to police officers, he said: "I might have rocked him without knowing, rocked him too hard, I don't know."

He was questioned about this by Simon Kealey KC, who defends him at the trial which continues at Derby Crown Court.

When referring to rocking Finley, Boden said: "He used to like it fast and strong when you did it."

Mr Kealey asked: "Did you do anything to deliberately hurt him?" Boden replied: "No.

"When he used to go to sleep, sometimes he would go to sleep and sometimes would like to be rocked quite hard."

Boden also spoke of the day he went to see Finley lying dead in hospital, saying he felt "upset, sad, horrible mood."

Finley’s eyes were open and Mr Kealey asked if Boden used the word "doll" to describe him.

Boden said: "I said he didn't look real. I can't remember saying 'doll.'"

After the hospital visit, Boden said he bought a fizzy drink Calypso and his mother got some Bacardi. He then asked her to lend him some money so he could buy cannabis.

He admitted meeting Marsden in defiance of bail restrictions which instructed them to stay apart. On one occasion, a social worker saw them in a park.

Boden admitted lying to police about their contact because he feared it could lead to them being held in custody.

The pair had sex and the court heard that Marsden became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage.

In exchanges between the couple, Marsden wrote: "Stephen Boden I love you, Stephen Boden till death do us part."

In one of Marsden's letters, she referred to Old Trafford, the home of Manchester United.

When asked about this in court, Boden explained: "I said that would be the only place I would get married, Old Trafford. She wanted a church or barn conversion. We spoke about it for about two years."

In another letter, Marsden wrote: "We can work through this. Lots of love, your baby girl Shannon."

The trial continues.