A mother and stepfather have been sentenced to life for the murder of five-year-old Logan Mwangi.
John Cole, 40, was told he would spend at least 29 years in prison while Angharad Williamson, 31, would serve a minimum of 28 years. A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was detained for a minimum of 15 years after also being found guilty of the murder.
The trio were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday after being convicted of Logan's murder. Both Williamson and the boy were convicted of an additional charge of perverting the course of justice - Cole admitted to the same offence before the trial.
Logan, who was described as a "smiling, cheerful little boy", was discovered in the River Ogmore in Pandy Park, Bridgend, South Wales, on the morning of July 31, 2021. He was discovered by police partially submerged and wearing dinosaur pyjama bottoms and a Spider-Man top, only 250 metres from his home.
The court heard how the youngster had suffered 56 external cuts and bruises, and "catastrophic" internal injuries, which were likened to a high-speed road accident. Experts claimed the injuries could only be caused by a "brutal and sustained assault" and were "consistent with child abuse".
Prosecutors said Logan had been "dehumanised" in the months and weeks leading up to his death. The young boy's stammer is said to have worsened and was particularly bad whenever he was around Cole.
He was also said to have wet himself more frequently and began self-harming. Friends of the couple said Cole told them he didn't like Logan and noted his attitude changed after becoming obsessed with the idea that Williamson had cheated with Logan's father Ben Mwangi.
After Williamson gave birth to Cole's own child, he was reluctant to let Logan see the baby and later claimed the boy tried to smother the newborn. Medics made a safeguarding referral to the police after Logan had suffered a broken arm in August 2020.
By March, Logan and his younger sibling had been assigned their own social worker due to concerns over Cole. In June, a month before the boy died, the family were removed from the child protection manager - it was believed there was no longer any risk of significant harm to the kids.
Meanwhile, a foster family the youth stayed with claimed to have heard Cole say he wanted to kill Logan. A support worker also heard the youth singing: “I love kids, I f****** love kids, I love to punch kids in the head, it’s orgasmic.”
Logan also suffered a broken collarbone a few weeks before he died but medical treatment was never sought for him. On July 20, Logan tested positive for Covid-19 and he was shut in his bedroom with a baby gate preventing him from leaving.
Caroline Rees QC, prosecuting, said: “He had been kept like a prisoner in his small bedroom in the flat you saw, a room likened by Williamson as a dungeon.”
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