A two-year-old boy was subjected to “casual brutality” and “pain and misery” before he died, a court has heard.
Toddler Ethan Ives-Griffiths died in August 2021 after sustaining a head injury at his home in North Wales.
His grandparents, Kerry, 46, and Michael Ives, 47, have been charged with murder, causing or allowing his death, and child cruelty. They are currently on trial.
Highlights
- Toddler Ethan Ives-Griffiths died from a deliberate fatal head injury after suffering ongoing abuse at his grandparents’ home, a court has heard.
- Grandparents Kerry and Michael Ives face murder and child cruelty charges and are accused of a pact to conceal the abuse that led to Ethan’s death.
- Medical evidence revealed Ethan endured "casual brutality," multiple injuries including shaken baby syndrome, and was "painfully thin."
Ethan suffered a fatal head injury in 2021
Image credits: North Wales Police
Their 28-year-old daughter Shannon—Ethan’s mother—is also accused of child cruelty and causing or allowing his death.
Mold Crown Court heard that on August 14, 2021, Shannon was on the phone upstairs while Ethan was downstairs with his grandparents, the Irish Times reports.
He sustained a fatal injury, but Kerry did not contact 999 for another 20 minutes. Ethan later died in the hospital on August 16 after undergoing brain surgery.
Medical evidence indicated that the fatal head injury was the result of deliberate force, and there was evidence of shaken baby syndrome.
The court also heard that Ethan had abdominal injuries consistent with heavy blows.
Image credits: North Wales Police
Prosecutor Caroline Rees KC said the couple told police that Ethan had suddenly collapsed and blamed their own daughter for his injuries rather than admit they were lying, she alleged.
“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,” Rees said.
She stated that the toddler was subjected to “casual brutality” and, based on a medical expert’s assessment, would have endured “distress, pain and misery in the days and weeks leading up to his death,” The Times reported.
“The prosecution say Ethan’s time at the first and second defendants’ home was thoroughly miserable and he was targeted by the defendants as an object of abuse and neglect,” Rees added.
“He was quiet and withdrawn, small and painfully thin.”
Rees said that Shannon knew her parents “represented a significant risk of physical harm” but “took no steps to protect her child.”
The jury watched CCTV footage on the first day of the trial
Image credits: North Wales Police
The court was told of how Shannon feared her father and had confessed during a police interview that she knew her parents were abusive.
A post-mortem examination revealed that Ethan weighed 10kg (approximately 22lbs) and measured 92cm in height, the BBC reported.
He was found to have sustained 40 separate injuries, including cuts, abrasions, and bruises.
On the first day of the trial, the jury watched CCTV footage that had been installed in the garden of the home where the abuse is said to have taken place.
It showed Michael “dangling” his grandson “like a rag doll” as he held him at the top of his arm to carry him, The Times reported.
Ethan was made to put his hands on his head while on the trampoline in another clip, which Rees said was Michael disciplining him.
Footage of Ethan on the trampoline shows the toddler struggling to stand while children bounce around him. Later, Shannon joins, causing him to fall.
While the three defendants were all present and watched him struggle, none helped.
“We say that footage can properly be described as harrowing, with a view into how traumatic the last weeks of Ethan’s life must have been,” Rees said.
Michael, Kerry, and Shannon have all denied the charges against them. The trial is expected to continue next week.