A COUPLE who starved and murdered their two-year-old grandson in a horrific campaign of abuse have been jailed.
Ethan Ives-Griffiths suffered 40 different injuries after he was attacked by Michael Ives and Kerry Ives.
PAHarrowing video shows Ethan being dragged through the garden by his grandfather[/caption]
PAThe toddler suffered horrific abuse before his death[/caption]
PAMichael Ives has now been jailed for life[/caption]
Ethan’s mum turned a blind eye to the abuse
The lack of care he received from his grandparents 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.
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”.
Michael Ives and Kerry Ives have now been jailed for life after they were convicted of murder.
They were also found guilty of child cruelty along with their daughter – Ethan’s mum – Shannon Ives, who was jailed for 12 years.
Michael was ordered to serve a minimum term of 23 years, while Kerry will have to serve at least 17 years.
Mold Crown Court heard little Ethan suffered a “thoroughly miserable” life.
He had moved in to his grandparent’s home with his mum but soon became an “object of abuse and neglect”.
Harrowing footage showed Michael aggressively dragging his grandson around the garden by the upper arm.
He can also be seen shoving the underweight toddler into the back seat of a car.
In one chilling clip, Michael appears to strike Ethan as gran Kerry watches on.
The evil grandparents forced the tot to stand with his hands on his head as a cruel punishment when he misbehaved.
He was also starved of food and water while his siblings were treated with love.
PALittle Ethan was starved by his family[/caption]
He was subjected to ‘casual cruelty’ in his grandparent’s home
PAA paramedic said he looked like a 90-year-old man[/caption]
Cruel Michael even took food out of his mouth before he could swallow as mum Shannon watched on silently.
The toddler’s death was said to be the “culmination of emotional and physical abuse on him by people who should have cared for him most”.
At the time of the horror in August 2021, his mum Shannon, 28, was upstairs on her phone.
A post mortem found Ethan had a long list of injuries to his head and neck including cuts to his jaw, mouth and neck.
He had also suffered deep bruising to his jaw and his brain was swollen by a “direct force trauma” to his mouth.
Jurors heard there was a “pact of silence” by “team of two” Michael, and Kerry 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.”
The court heard Ethan had been placed on the child protection register, requiring him to be seen every 10 days.
When Shannon Ives last saw her social worker, on August 5, she spoke to him on the doorstep and told him Ethan was having a nap.
No one answered the door when social worker Michael Cornish went to visit in the days before Ethan’s death.
Flintshire council said it is co-operating with an independent child practice review by the North Wales Safeguarding Board.
Nicola Rees of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “This case has been one of the most shocking I have dealt with as a prosecutor.
“The CCTV evidence showing how Ethan was singled out and abused was harrowing. The acts of cruelty, both physically and emotionally, were on a level rarely seen.
“The Crown Prosecution Service used the evidence from the Ives’ own CCTV to show the jury how Ethan was treated, resulting in these convictions.
“Being grandparents and a parent, the three defendants should have cared for and protected Ethan, but they did not.
“Our thoughts remain with Ethan’s father and family who have suffered a heart-breaking loss.”
PAKerry Ives was convicted of murder[/caption]
PAEthan suffered a serious head injury and died two days later[/caption]
Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
