A couple have been handed life sentences for the murder of their two-year-old grandson following a trial that exposed weeks of horrific abuse.
Michael Ives, 48, and his wife Kerry, 46, subjected toddler Ethan Ives-Griffiths to sustained physical and emotional cruelty at their home in Flintshire, North Wales.
Ethan was found to be dangerously dehydrated and severely underweight, bearing visible marks and bruises, when he collapsed with a catastrophic head injury in August 2021.
The pair had denied murder, but Mold Crown Court heard compelling evidence of the profound neglect and violence inflicted upon the child before their conviction.
Michael and Kerry Ives, of Kingsley Road, Garden City, said ânothingâ had happened to the toddler before he fainted as they watched television.
A jury convicted them both of murder and of cruelty to a child under 16.
Imposing life sentences, Mr Justice Griffiths told Michael Ives he would serve at least 23 yearsâ imprisonment before he could apply for parole, while his wife was jailed for a minimum of 17 years.
âEthan Ives-Griffiths was a two-year-old with an independent spirit. His mother and his grandparents hit him, but when they did, he was defiant and even laughed,â the judge said.
âEven though he was only a toddler, he was a brave and resilient boy with a strong character.
âHe already had qualities which in an adult could make for greatness, but the people hitting him didnât like the little boy standing up for himself. They decided to break him.â
Ethanâs mother, Shannon Ives, 28, of Rhes-y-Cae, near Holywell, who had been staying with her son at her parentsâ home, was found guilty of causing or allowing his death and of child cruelty.
She has been sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The judge said Shannon Ives knew her parents were violent as she had suffered at their hands while growing up.
âShannon knew Ethan was not safe with her parents. She gave evidence that she saw both of them hit Ethan,â he said.
âShe didnât tell social services, she covered up what was being done. She was complicit in it.
âShe knew that Ethan was emaciated, bruised all over his body and had recent injuries on his face.
âShe knew that he was painfully thin, malnourished, and dehydrated.
âShe knew that Michael was violent and was being systematically cruel and physically abusive towards Ethan.
âShe knew that Ethan could no longer walk or talk as he had walked and talked before.
âShe did not cause his death but she was active in allowing it.â
In a victim personal statement, William Griffiths, Ethanâs father, said he would never come to terms with what happened to his son.
âI feel angry that he was taken away from me and placed with his grandparents, who then subjected him to cruel behaviour, denying him food or basic comforts, regularly being mean and nasty towards him and excluding and disciplining him for no reason,â he said.
âHe must have felt so sad and alone and I feel sad that this is what his last few weeks on this earth were like.
âNo child should be subjected to this behaviour by anyone, let alone people that should have loved and cared for him.â
Mr Griffiths said the court case had taken a huge toll on his family, but he hoped to find some comfort in the verdict.
He added: âNo one should be put through this, itâs any familyâs worst nightmare to lose a child and have them taken from you, especially in such tragic circumstances.
âEthan has been a huge loss to our lives and leaves a void that can never be replaced for anyone who met and loved him.â
Jurors were visibly upset at points during the trial, during which CCTV from the family home was played, 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 Ethan had been placed on the child protection register, requiring him to be seen every 10 days, but when his mother 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 Ethanâs death and a scheduled appointment with a health visitor on August 13 was cancelled.
Shannon Ives had fled domestic violence from her home in Mold in June that year, the jury was told.
Her parents accused her of hitting her son, with Michael Ives telling the jury his daughter was âquick-temperedâ and would slap Ethan a couple of times a day.
But Shannon Ives told the court her parents were âhorribleâ 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.
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 that 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, he weighed just 10kg, the court was told.
The jury heard medical evidence that Ethanâs fatal head injury was caused by deliberate force or shaking and occurred at the time, or in the minutes before, he collapsed on the evening of August 14.
Ethan was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital and later transferred to Alder Hey Childrenâs Hospital in Liverpool, where he died two days later.
