Casually brutal couple murdered grandson - court

A couple accused of murdering their two-year-old grandson, who died from a catastrophic brain injury, treated him with "casual brutality", a court has heard.

Ethan Ives Griffiths was discovered "severely underweight, covered in bruises", after he was allegedly murdered by his grandparents, Michael and Kerry Ives in Garden City, Flintshire, on 16 August 2021.

Mr Ives, 47, and Mrs Ives, 46, are charged with murder, causing or allowing the death of a child, and cruelty to a child - which they deny.

At their trial at Mold Crown Court on Wednesday, the prosecutor said the other children had been encouraged to mistreat Ethan as "play".

The couple blamed the death on their daughter, Ethan's mother, Shannon Ives.

The 28-year-old from Mold, Flintshire, is charged with causing or allowing the death of a child, and cruelty to a child. She also denied the charges.

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find distressing

The court heard Ethan, his mother Shannon, and some other children were living with her parents in the summer of 2021.

Opening the prosecution's case, Caroline Rees KC said: "[Ethan] was quiet and withdrawn, small and painfully thin", by the time of his death.

He was targeted as an object of "abuse and neglect," and in the run-up to his death, experienced "distress, pain and misery".

He collapsed on 14 August 2021 after a "forceful attack" by those that should have cared for him most, the jury was told.

A post-mortem examination showed Ethan weighed 10kg, or about 22lbs, and was 92cm tall.

He had 40 different injuries on his body, including cuts, abrasions and bruises.

Internally, he had a blood clot above his brain, his brain was swollen and there were numerous trauma injuries to his head and abdomen.

The court heard the pathologist concluded it was likely he had been the victim of non-accidental injuries, and the cause of death had been a head injury.

The prosecution said Mr and Mrs Ives were the only ones with him when he was assaulted, and his mother Shannon was upstairs on her phone.

His mother is not charged with murder, but the prosecution claimed she was aware he was at risk, and "did nothing to protect him from that risk".

The court heard Kerry Ives delayed calling 999 for almost 20 minutes after Ethan's collapse, before making the call.

Following the assault, his grandparents entered "a pact of silence as to what they did to Ethan that night".

They chose instead, to blame their daughter, the court heard.

Ms Rees added: "They both had something serious to hide, namely that they were both involved in causing his death."

She said Ethan was the victim of an assault on a "vulnerable, defenceless child," and added he was "treated with casual brutality by the people trusted to protect him."

Ethan was unconscious after the alleged assault on 14 August.

Paramedics who came to the house describe Ethan as being emaciated with a sunken chest and found he was bruised and bleeding.

He was taken to Alder Hey Children's' Hospital in Liverpool, where medical staff found he was malnourished, but never regained consciousness and died on 16 August.

The court heard one paramedic described him as looking "like a 90-year-old man", and gaunt.

Examinations in intensive care showed multiple bruises to his face and body, and there was a "range of significant injuries to Ethan's eyes".

There was evidence of shaken baby syndrome, the court heard, highly suggestive of "abusive head trauma".

The court heard Ethan was found to have high levels of sodium - indicative of dehydration.

The jury saw a series of CCTV clips, taken from a CCTV camera installed in the Ives' garden.

In multiple clips, Ethan appears to be struggling for balance, while two other children bounce around him.

In several clips, he lies on his side, and despite getting to his feet, is seen to fall repeatedly.

At one point, his mother Shannon climbed on the trampoline and bounced, causing Ethan to fall.

One of the children is much older and bigger than Ethan, and bounces "forcefully", while Ethan flops around, "like a rag doll", the prosecution said.

All three defendants were in the garden, but "not a single one of them stops it", Ms Rees said.

In one clip, a child picks Ethan up by is feet. In multiple clips, Ethan is seen lying on his side, flopping around while other children bounce up and down.

Later, Michael Ives is seen to pick Ethan by one arm from the trampoline, carrying him back to the house.

"His handling of that obviously unwell and frail child is cruel", and you would not have treated an animal that way, Ms Rees said.

In one clip, Michael Ives looks towards a child and raises his fist. The child then appears to strike Ethan on the head, several times.

Michael Ives is also seen walking over to the trampoline and putting Ethan's hands on his head, as he sat.

As the children continued to bounce around, Ethan is seen trying to keep his hands on his head, even after falling.

Neither Kerry Ives nor Shannon Ives showed "even a jot of concern or care", the prosecutor said.

Ms Rees said Shannon Ives was aware her parents "represented a significant risk of physical harm" but "took no steps to protect her child".

In interview, she said she was scared of her parents and knew them to be abusive, the court heard.

"She had seen them shaking Ethan in anger on many occasions," she said.

"She said she was petrified of her father in particular."

The jury will continue to hear evidence on Monday.