Case No. ZE22C50109

143.This is a very difficult and unusual case. None of the potential explanations which has been put before the court offers a perfect, or even a very good, fit with the evidence. In trying to establish what has happened to S I am faced with a number of possibilities, all of which are towards the lower end of the spectrum of likelihood. Although in my discussion of the evidence I have evaluated the arguments for and against each of these possibilities it is, of course, not my role to rank them in order of most to least likely. My task is the simpler one of determining whether or not the injuries were inflicted by either of S’s parents. In determining that issue I must act on evidence, not speculation. 144.I do not find, on the balance of probabilities, that any of S’s injuries were sustained non-accidentally. The essential question I must ask myself is whether, on the evidence available to me, it is more likely than not that one or both of S’s parents inflicted his injuries, knew they had done so, and lied about it. For the reasons I have given I am unable to reach that conclusion. 145.The two alternative explanations put forward on behalf of the parents remain possibilities. Alternatively, this may be one of those cases where the true cause of the injuries has not been identified.