His Brother Died Mysteriously. 5 Decades Later, Photo Changed Everything.
It was an old photo, the original sharp black and white tones worn down into the same muddy gray as television static.
The young man, David Dearlove, sits against a brick wall, his legs spread on the grass, dark eyes on the camera, mouth hinged half-open in a grimace. The baby, Paul Booth, pudgy and blond, is propped against his right leg, his little feet in heavy socks and buckle shoes. A hand pinching his nose hides his face save for the eyes.
The picture, snapped in the working-class neighborhood of Haverton Hill in northeast England's Stockton-on-Tees in 1968, was taken just weeks before the 19-month-old died violently in his home.
Nearly five decades later, when the same image floated up on Peter Booth's Facebook feed in 2015, it kicked loose a rush of anger and memory tied to what the older Booth boy had seen when he was only 3 years old but never put into words. He decided to break his silence, an act that culminated with Booth taking the witness stand this week as Dearlove, his mother's ex-boyfriend, stands trial for Paul Booth's murder.
"Dearlove's son David posted an image of his dad with Paul and I got angry," Booth, now 53, told the Teesside Crown Court, explaining his reasons for finally coming forward, the Mirror reported. "I did not want it on there because of what he had done to Paul and what he had done to me."