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The Sun
3 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Grandparents ‘left boy, 2, so neglected he looked like 90-year-old before murdering him in brutal attack'
A COUPLE left their grandson so neglected he looked like a 90-year-old before they murdered him, a court heard. Ethan Ives-Griffiths, two, suffered 40 different injuries after he was allegedly attacked by Michael Ives and Kerry Ives. 4 4 Jurors heard the lack of care he received was "grossly neglectful" and his treatment was tantamount to "humiliation". His weight was "dangerously" low and he looked emaciated with his rib bones clearly visible, it was said. One paramedic called to the couple's home in Deeside, North Wales, said Ethan "looked like a 90-year-old man with dark, recessed eyes". They had discovered the toddler collapsed on the floor in front of the sofa with three bruises in the shape of a hand. Mold Crown Court heard the toddler had a long list of injuries to his head and neck including cuts to his jaw, mouth and neck. Ethan had also suffered deep bruising to his jaw and his brain was swollen by a "direct force trauma" to his mouth. The court heard this was the "culmination of emotional and physical abuse on him by people who should have cared for him most". Ethan had suffered a "thoroughly miserable" life and had was allegedly an "object of abuse and neglect" for gran Kerry and mum Shannon Kayleigh Ives. At the time of the horror in August 2021, his mum Shannon, 27, was upstairs on her phone. Jurors heard there was a "pact of silence" by "team of two" Michael, 46, and Kerry, 45, to conceal the truth. They both blamed their daughter for the violence and claimed she had "no patience" with Ethan. But prosecutor Caroline Rees said all three were to blame for the cruelty inflicted on Ethan in his short life. She added: "He was shown vanishingly little care by Kerry and Shannon and experienced casual brutality. "He would have experienced pain and misery in the weeks before he died. He was severely underweight and covered in bruises." Michael and Kerry deny murder, assault and neglect, while Shannon has pleaded not guilty to causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm. The trial continues. 4 4
The Independent
4 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Couple subjected grandson to ‘pain and misery' before his murder, court told
A 'withdrawn' and painfully thin' toddler was subjected to 'distress, pain and misery' in the weeks before he was murdered by his grandparents, a court has heard. Kerry Ives, 46, and her husband Michael, 47, are accused of the murder of their two-year-old grandson Ethan Ives-Griffiths, who died in hospital on August 16 2021 after an ambulance was called to their home in Deeside, Flintshire, two days earlier. Mold Crown Court heard the couple blamed his death on their daughter, Ethan's mother, Shannon Ives, who is accused along with her parents of causing or allowing his death and of child cruelty. At the opening of their trial on Wednesday, a jury was told Shannon Ives, 28, and her son had been living with her parents in the time leading up to his death. Caroline Rees KC said: 'The prosecution say Ethan's time at the first and second defendants' home was thoroughly miserable and he was targeted by the defendants as an object of abuse and neglect.' She added: 'He was quiet and withdrawn, small and painfully thin.' She said the toddler was exposed to 'casual brutality' and, according to a medical expert, would have experienced 'distress, pain and misery in the days and weeks prior to his death'. On the night of August 14, Ethan was downstairs with his grandparents while his mother was upstairs on the phone at the time he sustained his fatal injury, the court heard. Ms Rees said: 'The prosecution say what must have been a forceful attack on Ethan that night was the culmination of physical and emotional neglect and abuse upon him by those who should have cared for him the most.' Both Michael and Kerry Ives told police their grandson had collapsed suddenly. Ms Rees said: 'The prosecution say these two defendants entered a pact of silence as to what they did to Ethan that night, immediately working together as a team of two to conceal the truth about the reason for his fatal collapse.' She said the grandparents had chosen to 'blame their own daughter' rather than admit what really happened. 'They say it must have been Shannon Ives who inflicted the injuries which led to Ethan's death,' she said. Ms Rees said Shannon Ives was aware her parents 'represented a significant risk of physical harm' but 'took no steps to protect her child'. In interview, she said she was scared of her parents and knew them to be abusive, the court heard. Ms Rees said: 'She had seen them shaking Ethan in anger on many occasions. She said she was petrified of her father in particular.' The court heard Kerry Ives delayed calling 999 for almost 20 minutes after Ethan's collapse, before making the call at 9.21pm. Ethan was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital and then transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital for brain surgery, but was pronounced dead at 6pm on August 16. He had 'serious, catastrophic head injuries' and found to be 'severely underweight' and 'covered in bruises', the court heard. The jury was told he weighed 10kg, or 22lb, when he died and at a post-mortem examination 40 external injuries were observed. Medical evidence showed his fatal head injury was caused by deliberate use of force which may have included an element of forceful shaking, Ms Rees said. Abdominal injuries consistent with forceful blows were also found, the court heard. CCTV footage taken from outside the family home in the weeks before his death showed his mother 'standing by, totally unconcerned whilst Ethan was ill-treated and handled by her father in a totally inhumane way', Ms Rees said. In clips shown to the court, Michael Ives could be seen carrying his grandson by the top of his arm, 'dangling him like a rag doll' and appearing to hit out at him after putting him into the backseat of a car. Another clip showed Ethan on a trampoline, where Michael Ives was seen to put the toddler's hands on his head – a technique Ms Rees said was used 'to discipline' the child. Ms Rees said: 'We say that footage can properly be described as harrowing, with a view into how traumatic the last weeks of Ethan's life must have been.' Michael and Kerry Ives, of Kingsley Road, Garden City, deny murder, an alternative count of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. Shannon Ives, of Nant Garmon, Mold, denies causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. The trial, which is expected to last six weeks, will continue on Monday.
The Sun
4 days ago
- General
- The Sun
Grandparents ‘murdered 'painfully thin' boy, 2, after he became object of abuse in family's campaign of brutality'
A COUPLE murdered their toddler grandson after he became an "object of abuse" in a campaign of brutality, a court heard. Ethan Ives-Griffiths suffered catastrophic head injuries at the home of Michael Ives and Kerry Ives in Deeside, North Wales. 2 Jurors heard the two-year-old was "painfully thin and vulnerable" at the time of his death. Ethan had suffered a "thoroughly miserable" life and had was an "object of abuse and neglect" for gran Kerry and mum Shannon Kayleigh Ives. Prosecutor Caroline Rees said: "He was shown vanishingly little care by Kerry and Shannon and experienced casual brutality. "He would have experienced pain and misery in the weeks before he died. He was severely underweight and covered in bruises." Mold Crown Court was told Ethan died from fatal head injuries from a deliberate from blow and a forceful shaking injury. This was the "culmination of emotional and physical abuse on him by people who should have cared for him most", it was said. At the time of the horror in August 2021, his mum Shannon, 27, was upstairs on her phone. Ms Rees said: "So it was either Michael and/or Kerry who were responsible for the deliberate assault which led to Ethan's death. Neither offered a plausible explanation." The court was told there was a "pact of silence" by "team of two" Michael, 46, and Kerry, 45, to conceal the truth. Shannon meanwhile was "unconcerned" about her son's plight, it was said. Miss Rees said all three were to blame for the cruelty inflicted on Ethan in his short life. She added: "Not one adult sought medical help. Michael and Kerry sought to deflect responsibility for what happened and blamed their daughter Shannon for Ethan's ill-treatment and death." Michael and Kerry deny murder, assault and neglect, while Shannon has pleaded not guilty to causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm. The trial continues.
