A couple have been convicted of the “savage and brutal murder” of their 10-month-old son 39 days after he was returned to their care, as a serious case review is under way to look at the role of protection agencies before the baby’s death.
Stephen Boden, 30, and Shannon Marsden, 22, were found guilty of murdering Finley Boden, who died on Christmas Day 2020 with 130 separate injuries.
A five-week trial at Derby crown court heard how the couple subjected Finley to “repeated acts of severe violence” in the weeks running up to his death.
Boden and Marsden had denied murder, two counts of child cruelty and two charges of causing or allowing the death of a child. They will be sentenced at a later date.
The trial judge, Mrs Justice Tipples, became emotional as she thanked the jury for their “extremely impressive” conduct, and excused members from further jury service for life. As she spoke, members of the jury were in tears while the defendants sat silently in the nearby dock.
Andrew Baxter, the deputy chief crown prosecutor, said the abuse Finley suffered was “incomprehensible”. “The violence these two individuals inflicted and their wilful neglect in covering up his injuries is incomprehensible,” he said. “These defendants sought to have their child returned to their care and then treated him in this appalling manner.”
Finley was taken into care shortly after he was born in February 2020 because of child protection concerns, and was returned to his parents permanently on 17 November that year after a family court ruling.
Jurors heard Finley had been returned to the couple’s care over an eight-week transition, including overnight stays of varying lengths, despite a report by the family’s social worker recommending a six-month transition.
A child safeguarding review into the circumstances surrounding Finley’s death is under way.
During the trial, the prosecutor, Mary Prior KC, told the jury the case was about the “savage and brutal murder of a baby boy”. She said Finley suffered a catalogue of “appalling” injuries, including 71 bruises and 57 fractures, which left almost every bone in his body broken by the time he died.
Finley’s pelvis had been broken in two places, possibly from sustained “kicking or stamping”, and he had two burns on his left hand, one “from a hot, flat surface”, the other probably “from a cigarette lighter flame”.
The court heard he died after a cardiac arrest at the family’s home, which was described as filthy, cluttered and smelling of animal faeces, in Old Whittington, Chesterfield.
The couple called paramedics at 2.33am on Christmas Day after Finley was found not breathing and he was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 3.45am.
While visiting Finley’s body in a hospital chapel of rest on 11 January 2021, Marsden was heard to say: “His dad’s battered him to death. I didn’t protect him.”
Marsden insisted the injuries were inflicted by the boy’s father, who claimed the family dog may have “jumped on” the child causing his broken ribs.
Evidence shown to the jury included a text message Boden sent two days before the child’s death saying: “I want to bounce him [Finley] off the walls.”
Sir Peter Wanless, the NSPCC chief executive, said the suffering of Finley “was one of 36 children who died in England following abuse and maltreatment at home in 2020 alone”.
He added: “The death of a child in such brutal circumstances leaves many of us asking questions and we await the child safeguarding practice review to provide answers as soon as possible. It is vital the government takes forward the changes recommended by previous reviews and experts to transform the child protection system.”
A Derbyshire county council spokesperson said: “Finley’s death is a tragedy and our heartfelt sympathy goes out to everyone who knew and loved him. We continue to be fully engaged with the Derby and Derbyshire safeguarding children partnership, which has commissioned a local child safeguarding practice review.
“This is a statutory legal process, formerly referred to as a serious case review, which looks in depth at the role of all agencies following the death of a child. The review is conducted independently and it would not be appropriate for us to comment further until that review is complete to ensure we do not pre-empt its findings.”
