A mum screamed 'you lying motherf****** murderer' at her son boy's stepdad as they were both convicted of murder this afternoon.
Logan Mwangi, five, was found dead on July 31 last year in the River Ogmore near his home in Bridgend, South Wales, with injuries “usually seen in car crash victims”.
The youngster had suffered more than 56 external injuries, as well as horrific internal wounds - including a large tear to his liver and one to his bowel.
Mum Angharad Williamson, 31, stepdad John Cole, 40, and a third defendant, a 14-year-old boy who cannot be named for legal reasons due to his age, had denied murder, but a jury found them guilty following a trial.
The mum and boy were also found guilty of perverting the course of justice.
Williamson collapsed to the floor as the verdict was delivered, saying "no, no, no, no, no", with Judge Mrs Justice Jefford telling her: “For respect for your son and (the youth) please remain quiet.”
Moments later when was held back by dock officers and cried as she shouted at Cole: "You lying motherf****** murderer, you lying murderer.”
On the morning Logan's body was found, Williamson called 999 pretending not to know where he was.
The mum was heard screaming “Please, please help me” as she explains her son is “not here”.
Footage from a police body camera also showed the moment Williamson said “it's all my fault” just hours after her son's death.
It was filmed on the porch shortly after Williamson phoned 999.
In the video, Williamson demands to see her son, whose battered body has just been found in the river and taken to hospital.
Although police suspected he was dead they had not yet confirmed that to Williamson.
As the officer attempts to calm her, Williamson snaps at him through crocodile tears shouting: “If he's unconscious he needs me, he needs warm clothes, he needs mum. I feel so useless.”
She then holds her head in her hand and perhaps tellingly says: “This is all my fault."
Little Logan was found wearing only mismatched pyjamas in the river by police a short time later - he was confirmed dead later in hospital.
Mrs Justice Jefford said sentencing will be at a later date, but only one sentence can be passed in each of the defendants’ cases - life imprisonment.
Jurors were warned that the evidence will be "difficult to listen to" during the trial.
Pathologist Dr John Williams performed a post mortem on Logan on August 1, 2021, the day after his body was found.
He said there was "extensive deep scalp bruising" to the back of the head - and patchy "deep scalp bruising" to the left and right frontal scalp.
There was also haemorrhaging to the right side of the head and inside the skull. A separate examination of Logan's brain - which was carried out on August 25, 2021 - revealed "brain swelling, bleeding, microcalcification, and hypoxic-ischemic brain injury".
The court heard there was evidence of severe blunt force injury to the abdomen including tearing to the liver and bowel and stripping of the duodenum from anatomical attachments.
Dr Williams later added: “The court heard there were features indicating a period of survival following injuries being sustained which may have been up to several hours... The findings do not indicate death occurred immediately after injuries were sustained."
He said the severity of these injuries may be expected with a fall or collapse, and absent of a high-velocity accident, the injuries are consistent with “a blow or blows, a kick or kicks or impact of impacts with a weapon”.
The medical cause of Logan’s death was given as blunt force abdominal injury and cerebral injury including brain swelling, hypoxic-ischemic neuronal injury and traumatic brain injury.
Following this afternoon's verdict, Assistant Director NSPCC Cymru, Tracey Holdsworth said: “The treatment of Logan Mwangi by people who should have been caring for him was horrific, but for his death to have involved another young person is even more shocking.
“However, we cannot lose sight of the fact that one of those found guilty is still a child and the response to him must be one of both punishment and appropriate support.
“A Child Safeguarding Practice Review must now leave no stone unturned in establishing exactly what took place before Logan died and whether more could have been done to protect him.
“There must also be more investment in children’s services in Wales to ensure they are able to provide comprehensive support to any child at risk of harm and be better equipped to prevent a tragedy such as this happening again in Wales.”
