THIS is the disturbing moment a killer grandad is seen hauling his two-year-old grandson through the garden and bundling him into a car in a series of shocking videos.
Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, were today found guilty of murder at Mold Crown Court after their grandson, Ethan Ives-Griffiths, collapsed at their home.
Harrowing video shows the young lad dragged through the garden by his grandfather
Extensive footage shows Ethan suffering at the hands of his grandfather
Ethan was ‘targeted for abuse and subjected to casual cruelty’ in his grandparent’s home
Ethan Ives-Griffiths was dangerously dehydrated and severely underweight while staying with his grandparents.
Grandfather Michael previously admitted in court being “cruel and neglectful to the toddler” in court.
Ethan collapsed on the evening of August 14, 2021, after sustaining a serious head injury and tragically died two days later in hospital.
Harrowing video footage, collected over a period of weeks and shown in court, shows Michael aggressively dragging his grandson around the garden by the upper arm.
Michael can also be seen shoving the underweight toddler into the back seat of a car and appears to strike the tot in one clip, filmed on August 12, 2021, while Ethan’s grandmother watches on.
The court heard two-year-old Ethan was made to stand with his hands on his head as a cruel punishment when he misbehaved.
Ethan’s mother, Shannon Ives, 28, had been staying with her son at her parents’ home in Garden City, the court heard the toddler was “targeted for abuse and subjected to casual cruelty” in the home.
Ethan’s mother Shannon was found guilty of causing or allowing his death and of child cruelty.
An upsetting video from August 4 shows the underfed and dehydrated youth wandering through the garden of the property looking dazed before being grabbed by his grandad and hauled into the air.
Young Ethan was described as “painfully thin” and had 40 injuries on his body when he was examined by doctors.
One video clip from the home, shot on August 12, shows the tragic tot being shoved through the garden gate by his grandad as his grandmother stares at her phone, uncaring of the abuse her grandson is suffering.
Another clip seen in court showed Michael lifting the toddler clean off the ground after violently gripping the youth’s upper arm.
Shannon’s parents accused her of hitting her son, with Michael Ives telling the jury his daughter was “quick-tempered” and would slap Ethan a couple of times a day.
Shannon Ives told the court her parents were “horrible” and abused her as a child.
The court heard that tragic Ethan was just 10kg when he collapsedPA
PAKerry can be seen in videos watching on as Michael drags Ethan around[/caption]
PAKerry Ives was found guilty of the tragic murder today[/caption]
PAMichael Ives previously admitted being ‘cruel and neglectful to the toddler’[/caption]
Ethan and his mother were staying with her parents after she fled domestic abuse.
Michael Ives denied he or his wife Kerry inflicted a severe head injury on Ethan before he collapsed at their home.
Ethan was raced to hospital after collapsing but tragically passed away two days later.
The tot’s grandfather accepted in court that he neglected Ethan and that the way he carried him, by his upper arm, was cruel but denied mistreating the toddler in other ways.
Ethan was “dangerously thin” and “desperately dehydrated” while staying with his grandparents.
Hard-to-watch video footage shows the moment sick Michael violently drags the tot by the arm, seeming frustrated at poor Ethan’s slow movements.
Ethan is then bundled into a waiting car in video filmed on August 12 and disappears from view but grandad Michael can be seen and appears to wrestle with Ethan on the back seat.
Michael then makes several violent, sudden motions with his arm which look to be blows aimed at the weak two-year-old.
Jurors were visibly upset at points during the gruelling five-and-a-half week trial after watching extensive footage of the abuse Ethan suffered.
Further footage, filmed on August 4, shows Michael grabbing the youth from a trampoline in the back garden and hauling him back into the house.
Ethan is once again lifted clean off the ground and violently dragged around by his abusive grandad.
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.
Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, described the way Michael carried Ethan around the home and garden “as though Ethan was just a bag of rubbish to be slung out.”
Doctors found abdominal injuries on Ethan’s body which are believed to have been inflicted on the tot in the days before his death.
The tragic tot was also found with other injuries including bruises which were consistent with grip marks on his leg and face.
Experts said Ethan would have died of dehydration within days if he didn’t suffer the head injury.
At the time of his death the tot weighed just 10kg.
Michael and Kerry were in the living room with Ethan when he collapsed.
It took 18 minutes for emergency services to be called after the tot fainted with Ethan’s mother eventually making the call for help.
Ethan was taken to hospital and died two days later.
Detective Superintendent Chris Bell said Ethan was singled out and “casually and brutally assaulted”.
He said: “It is beyond comprehension how anybody could treat a human being like that, let alone a defenceless two-year-old who you should be caring for.”
The jury deliberated for six hours and 54 minutes before returning their verdicts on Tuesday morning.
Mr Justice Griffiths said Michael Ives and Kerry Ives would be given life sentences while Shannon Ives faced a “substantial prison sentence”.
The defendants will be sentenced on October 3.
PAEthan was described as ‘dangerously dehydrated’ after a stint at his grandparent’s home[/caption]
PAEthan was forced to stand with his hands on his head as punishment for misbehaving[/caption]
PAEthan sustained a serious head injurie while staying with his grandparents[/caption]
PAEthan was raced to hospital but tragically could not be saved[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
