Grandparents of two-year-old boy found guilty of his murder

The grandparents of a two-year-old boy have been found guilty of his murder.

Ethan Ives-Griffiths was dangerously dehydrated, severely underweight and had 40 visible bruises or marks when he collapsed with a catastrophic head injury at his grandparents' home in Flintshire, North Wales, on 14 August 2021. Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, were convicted of his murder and of cruelty to a child under 16.

Ethan's mother, Shannon Ives, 28, who had been staying with her son at her parents' home, was found guilty of causing or allowing his death and of child cruelty. During the trial at Mold Crown Court, jurors were shown CCTV from the family home which showed Michael Ives carrying his grandson by the top of his arm and appearing to punch him after putting him into a car seat.

The court heard the youngster had been placed on the child protection register, requiring him to be seen every 10 days. However, when Shannon Ives last saw her social worker, on 5 August 2021, 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 and a scheduled appointment with a health visitor on 13 August was cancelled. Shannon Ives was said to have fled domestic violence from her home in Mold in June that year.

Michael Ives told the jury his daughter was "quick-tempered" and would slap Ethan a couple of times a day, but Shannon Ives claimed her parents were "horrible" and abused her as a child. The court heard Ethan was made to stand with his hands on his head as a punishment when he misbehaved.

CCTV footage from 4 August 2021 showed Michael Ives carrying his grandson by the top of his arm in a way which was described by prosecutor Caroline Rees KC "as though Ethan was just a bag of rubbish to be slung out". The video, taken from the back garden of the family's four-bedroom home, showed Ethan appearing unsteady on a trampoline, or lying down, while other children bounced.

Michael Ives was seen to point a garden hose at him, placed the toddler's hands on his head, and gestured to another child to punch him. After watching the video in court, Michael Ives said he felt "ashamed" and admitted being cruel and neglectful but denied mistreating Ethan in other ways.

When Ethan was examined by doctors after his death, he was found to have abdominal injuries likely to have been caused by blows in the days before his collapse. Other injuries included bruises which were consistent with grip marks on his leg and face.

Experts said Ethan would have died of dehydration within days had he not suffered the head injury, and at the time of his death weighed just 10kg. Ethan's fatal head injury was said to have been caused by deliberate force or shaking, and occurred at the time, or in the minutes before, he collapsed.

Michael and Kerry Ives, originally from Wolverhampton, were in the living room with Ethan at the time of his collapse while his mother was on the phone upstairs. The pair told the jury "nothing" had happened to the toddler before he fainted as they watched television.

Kerry Ives said she immediately called Shannon Ives to come downstairs, but the court heard it was 18 minutes before she called emergency services. Ethan was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital and later transferred to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, where he died two days later.

The defendants will be sentenced on 3 October. Mr Justice Griffiths said Michael and Kerry Ives will be given life sentences, while Shannon Ives faces a "substantial prison sentence"..