Tragic final days of tot murdered by grandparents - 40 injuries in 'cult' house of horror
Grandparents Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, have today been jailed for 23 and 17 years, respectively, after murdering little Ethan Ives-Griffiths, who died after a horrific campaign of abuse
A two-year-old boy murdered by his grandparents was grabbed by his upper arm and picked up like "a bag of rubbish" just weeks before his death.
In July, Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, the boy's grandparents, were found guilty of murdering little Ethan Ives-Griffiths, who died in 2021 after suffering a "catastrophic head injury".
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.
The Ives, who live in Flintshire, North Wales, were in the living room with their grandson when he collapsed from the head injury. He died in hospital just two days later.
Ethan's mum, Shannon Ives, 28, of Rhes-y-Cae, near Holywell, was also found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a person under 16. She has today been sentenced to xxx.
During their 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 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."
Ethan, described as a "bubbly little child", had come to stay at his grandparents' home with his mother around June 24, 2021. But in the final days leading up to his death, the toddler had become "withdrawn" and "painfully thin" after a campaign of cruel abuse.
By the time Ethan was taken to hospital on the night of 14 August, doctors discovered he was covered in bruises and injury marks - 40 in total - as well as being dangerously dehydrated, with dry, cracked lips.
Ethan's paternal grandmother, Kellie Shone, last saw Ethan he was unconscious and littered with bruises. "I saw fingerprints, hand marks, all the bruises - just on a little boy," she said. "Why Ethan, why him? The one that smiled the most - why him?"
Ms Shone told the BBC that she believes that something dark had been brewing in the house of horrors, describing the home as "like a cult," where Michael Ives is said to have used death threats against his children and grandchildren to maintain control through fear.
"I've seen messages, where he's messaged Shannon saying he was going to run her over and her kid - the eldest," said Ms Shone, referring to Michael Ives.
"'I'm going to run you and your son over'. When she fell pregnant with the next child, he was going to kick it out of her stomach - words out of his mouth that he has texted his own daughter."
On August 4, 2021, the day Ethan collapsed, the little boy was seen struggling to stand up on a trampoline as the other kids bounced around him while his grandparents and mum looked on.
In one harrowing video, mum Shannon climbed on to the trampoline while Ethan was standing and jumped, causing him to fall back down.
A short while later, Michael Ives was seen picking up his grandson by one arm from the trampoline and carrying him "like a bag of rubbish."
Kerry Ives, originally from Wolverhampton, accepted the way her husband carried Ethan, by his arm, in CCTV footage from August 4 2021, was "cruel".
She said: "It wasn't nice." Ives said at the time she did not see her husband holding Ethan in that way and denied the footage showed her watching as Ethan was carried from a trampoline in the back garden.
Michael Ives told police "[Ethan's] mum smacked him for misbehaving" just days before he collapsed again. The defendant said his daughter Shannon grabbed Ethan's arms and told him to "stand up" before hitting him. "The way she hit him was up the back of the head," he said.
On August 13, the day before Ethan fatally collapsed, Michael Ives said he was in the living room when he heard a loud bang. He turned and saw Ethan "lying on the floor."
The child was lying still and "just staring" for a couple of minutes before he eventually came round and "seemed fine."
Michael claimed he told Shannon "we need to try and him to the doctor's." She said she would have phoned them, but there were no appointments. They later took Ethan shopping but were pressed by the prosecution to explain why they felt that was a good idea. "Ethan wanted to come", Michael said.
However, the following evening, Ethan had a red mark on the coroner of his eyebrow after he had been in the bedroom with his mum. Asked how it happened, Shannon told Michael "he probably fell."
Ethan had been watching television when he collapsed again on August 14. Kerry Ives said she shouted for Shannon Ives to come downstairs to help, and she said she would be down "in two minutes" as she was on her phone.
Kerry said she swore at her daughter and said "never mind two minutes, he's your baby". Despite attempts to bring him round, Ethan never regained consciousness and died in Alder Hey Hospital two days later.
A post-mortem examination showed he weighed just 22lb and was 3ft tall. He had 40 different injuries on his body, including a swollen brain and numerous trauma injuries to his head and abdomen.
The pathologist said it was likely Ethan had been the victim of non-accidental injuries and the cause of death was a head injury.
Asked how he would describe himself as a grandparent, Ives said: "I'm a good grandad".
The jury heard he no longer has any relationship with his daughter as "she'd cut us all off", which Ives said was because "she can't cope with the grief" of losing Ethan.
The cruel couple attempted to portray themselves as worried grandparents after torturing little Ethan to death. In a chilling 999 call, they tried to claim that the unresponsive toddler had 'fallen over' while watching television at their home.
The horrific truth about little Ethan's final hours soon unravelled, however, and on September 2, 2021, Mrs Ives was informed she was under arrest.
Footage shows the moment that evil gran Ives learned that she was being arrested for murder, with police turning up on her doorstep.
The killer appeared bleary-eyed as she answered the door in what appeared to be her pyjamas. Ives then looked on blankly when an officer informed her, "Kerry, you're currently under arrest on suspicion of murder." In response, the killer gran simply replied, "Who?"
When asked if she had anything to say, Mrs Ives said that she needed to phone her solicitor. As cuffs were slapped on her wrists and her phone seized, Mrs Ives's tone was more one of irritation than terror as she enquired, "Can I get dressed?"