A killer boyfriend who battered his partner's "beautiful" toddler to death has been sentenced to life in prison.
Kyle Bevan launched a frenzied and brutal attack on defenceless two-year-old Lola James at her home in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. During the sickening assault, he left the little girl with the kind of injuries usually found in car crash victims.
He had only been in a relationship with her mum, Sinead James, a few months after adding her on Facebook before moving in with her in early 2020 as the country went into lockdown, reports Wales Online.
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After raining down blows on Lola in the attack in the middle of July 2020 he took photos and a video of her limp body in a sickening plot to try and cover his tracks. He instead, messaged his mother – a healthcare worker – who then raised the alarm.
As Lola was rushed to hospital, Bevan claimed the toddler had been knocked down the stairs by the family dog. Police later found that the toddler appeared to have been washed, with temporary tattoos she had on her arm scrubbed off, and her hair was soaking wet.
A victim impact statement was read out by the junior prosecution counsel at Swansea Crown Court on behalf of Lola James’s father, Daniel Thomas.
“Lola was as bright as the golden sun. She was beautiful, charming and cheeky. Her laugh would fill the room with pure joy,” he said. “Even as a toddler Lola has a passion for the outdoors and everything out there – the birds, bees and butterflies. As a parent, all I could hope for was for her to continue to grow with happiness and health. With the courage in her heart to know she could be anything and do anything she wanted. This will never be now.
“Lola won’t have another birthday, or ride a bike, or listen to her favourite story. She won’t sing her favourite songs, and I will never get to meet my daughter as a teenager or a woman. All I have left are memories of a beautiful baby and dreams of the child she can never become.
“I constantly imagine how she would sound and what she would find funny. I miss Lola every single day and my heart hurts every single day. I am grateful that Kyle and Sinead are recognised for Lola’s cruel, defenceless murder. But it doesn’t bring me joy. As any parent can imagine, as any human can imagine, it will never come close to being enough.
“Lola didn’t just die. She wasn’t just taken from me in the worst way ever possible. She was brutally attacked. Her tiny body was savaged in the evilest way. She didn’t stand a chance. Lola’s little life was filled with filth and chaos at the hands of her mother, who couldn’t even provide her with basic safety in her own home.
“The guilt I feel lives inside me and will never leave, as the memory of Lola lying in a hospital bed fighting to stay alive will remain with me always. All I have been left with is guilt, heartache, pain, and torment.”
John Hipkin KC, representing Bevan, did not offer any personal mitigation on behalf of his client during the sentencing hearing at Swansea Crown Court.
“Can I indicate straight away that those defending Kyle Bevan accept there is little or no realistic mitigation,” he said.
“We agree that this will be a life sentence and the starting point is 15 years with a significant uplift.”
It was accepted that mother-of-three Sinead James was asleep at the time and did not take part in the vicious assault. However the prosecution argued that James, a previous victim of domestic violence, failed to protect Lola from Bevan.
She was sentenced to six years in prison - she will serve up to half that sentence in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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