A teenage boy who is among three people accused of murdering a five-year-old had a “desire for violence” and spoke of killing people, a court has been told.
The body of Logan Mwangi, also known as Logan Williamson, was discovered in the River Ogmore in Sarn, Bridgend on July 31 2021. He had suffered more than 56 injuries to his head and body.
His mother Angharad Williamson, 30, stepfather John Cole, 40, and a 14-year-old boy are on trial for Logan’s murder at Cardiff Crown Court.
In statements read to the court on Monday, the former foster family of the youth defendant described how he had made their lives “hell” during the several weeks he lived with them last summer.
They also said he had told them on several occasions that he wanted to kill Logan.
The boy’s foster mother said she had become concerned about what seemed like his “desire for violence”, detailing how he wanted to spar with every person he met.
He also told members of the family he wanted to kill them, explaining he would do so if The Purge, a film about a fictional holiday in the US when all crime, including murder, becomes decriminalised, became real.
The foster father said he had become “terrified” of the youth, who had told him he wanted to “punch his lights out” through gritted teeth, adding that the youth would walk around chanting about how he wanted to kill people.
The family also told of the youth’s behaviour towards their family dog, who he insisted on pulling up by his hind legs and keep him dangling even though he was aware the dog had an injured pelvis.
There was also reference to an occasion when he had been witnessed spraying a can of deodorant into the dog’s eyes.
The jury heard how on more than one occasion the teenager, who was 13 years old at the time, had said he wanted to kill Logan.
The foster family said they continuously raised concerns about the youth’s behaviour and threats with social worker Debbie Williams but that she dismissed what they said as “nonsense”.
“She just brushed it off as if it was nothing,” the foster mother said in her statement.
Logan was found dead in the river shortly after the youth left the care of the foster family.
As details of the teen’s behaviour was read to the court, Logan’s mother Williamson began crying loudly from the dock.
Ms Williams, the youth’s social worker, also began her evidence, detailing how she had visited him at a number of addresses at first virtually during the Covid-19 pandemic and then in person as restrictions eased.
When asked if she had met Logan and how she would describe the young boy, Ms Williams broke down in tears.
Through sobs, she said: “He was a delight, a delightful little boy. He was a happy boy. Bright eyes.
“He was very polite and he would always be like ‘Hello Debbie!'”
A neighbour of Cole’s property in Maesglas, Sarn, Sheryl Lewis also gave evidence.
She told the jury that at around 9.20pm on the evening of July 31, several hours after Logan was found, she witnessed Cole outside crying on the phone.
She told the court: “When I was coming back out I saw John Cole on the phone.
“He was crying on the phone.
“He said: ‘Help me, help me! What should I do, what should I do?'”
A number of social workers are due to give evidence in the trial.
