'My son knew exactly who murdered his toddler as soon as he saw horror injuries'
Ethan Ives-Griffiths, two, died two days after he collapsed with a fatal head injury at the home of his grandparents, Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, in August 2021
The father of a toddler who was cruelly murdered by his own grandparents immediately suspected they were the killers, his mother has revealed.
Little Ethan Ives-Griffiths, two, died two days after he collapsed with a fatal head injury at the home of his grandparents, Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, in Flintshire, North Wales in August 2021.
Today, Michael Ives was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years in prison, while Kerry Ives will serve a minimum term of 17 years in custody.
At the grandparents' trial in July, one juror wiped away tears as horrific details of the two year old's injuries were read to the court. CCTV images were shown in which Michael Ives was seen grabbing the toddler by the arm and carrying him like a 'rag doll' toward a car, and dragging him through the garden.
The jury was told Ethan was "withdrawn" and "painfully thin" and subjected to "distress, pain and misery" in the weeks before he died.
READ MORE: Horror moment grandad drags Ethan Ives-Griffiths 'like rag doll' before murderMold Crown Court heard the couple blamed his death on their daughter, his mum Shannon Ives, who was also on trial accused of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty towards Ethan - she was found guilty.
Within hours of Ethan's death, his distraught father WIll Griffths was already pointing the finger of suspicion at Michael and Kerry.
Ethan's paternal grandmother, Kellie Shone, told the BBC: "As soon as Will came home from the hospital, he turned round and said 'he's killed my son'. Straight away he said Michael had killed his son."
Shone believes that something sinister had been developing over the years, describing the home as "like a cult," where Michael Ives allegedly used death threats against his children and grandchildren to maintain control through fear.
During the trial, prosecutor Caroline Rees KC said that 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.
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 cowardly told police their grandson had collapsed suddenly.
"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," the court heard.
Ms Rees 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 mum Shannon was aware her parents "represented a significant risk of physical harm" but "took no steps to protect her child". In interview, Shannon said she was scared of her parents and knew them to be abusive, the court heard.
The prosecutor 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.
In clips shown to the court, Michael 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.