An evil stepdad inflicted "catastrophic" brain injuries to a two-year-old girl while her mum lay asleep upstairs.
Lola James' injuries were described as comparable with those found in car crash victims as the two-year-old was found with more than 100 scratches and bruises on her body. She also had extensive damage to both her eyes and died in hospital four days later.
Stepfather Kyle Bevan inflicted the horrific injuries on the infant in the early hours of July 17, 2020 while her mother lay asleep upstairs at their home in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. Lola’s mum Sinead James, 30, was found guilty of causing or allowing her daughter’s death while Bevan, 31, was convicted of murder by a jury at Swansea Crown Court earlier this month, the Mirror reports.
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He had denied harming Lola, claiming the young girl's injuries were caused when the family dog pushed her down the stairs. The trial heard gruelling evidence about Lola's horrific injuries.
Sentencing today, Mr Justice Griffiths said he was sure that by the time of the murder, James knew Bevan was not to be trusted with Lola. He sentenced her to six years imprisonment but said she would only serve three behind bars under current rules. Bevan was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 28 years for murder.
He said the assault carried out by Bevan was "sustained, deliberate, and very violent", and involved the use of weapons, adding he was satisfied the attack was an "exercise of power". He said Bevan had shown no remorse for what he had done but had only shown concern for himself.
The judge added he was sure the fatal assault was the culmination of months of physical child abuse at the hands of Bevan. Bevan remained expressionless and showed no emotion as he was jailed and James, was tearful throughout the hearing, particularly at hearing the victim impact statement from her mother, and cried when she was jailed.
During the hearing today, Mr Justice Griffiths said: "Lola was a very young child, two years and 10 months old. She was particularly vulnerable, not being strong enough to resist or old enough to tell anyone what was happening.
"Kyle Bevan was in a position of trust. Having assumed the role, as he described himself to the ambulance crew, of Lola's stepfather. He started to hurt Lola at midnight, and he carried on until she was unconscious at 6.30am.
"He did not stop when Sinead James nearly caught him in the act when she heard Lola's scream at midnight. This was a sustained, deliberate and very violent attack. The attack was completely unprovoked. There is no suggestion that Lola was playing up in any way before she was killed.
"For some of the injuries, Kyle Bevan used weapons. The attack would have caused both mental and physical pain and suffering before the onset of coma. It was the culmination of several months of physical child abuse.
"I am sure that Kyle Bevan did this as an exercise of power and assertion of superiority over the only person who he could feel superior to, a helpless child."
The judge went on to say James prioritised her relationship with Bevan over the safety of her family and failed to take steps to keep her daughter safe. He remained living in the house throughout the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which Lola suffered a number of injuries while in his sole care, including a damaged nose, black eyes and a cut lip.
In a previous victim impact statement read out to the court by prosecution barrister Carina Hughes, Lola’s father Daniel Thomas said his daughter was "as bright as the golden sun, she was beautiful, charming and cheeky, her laugh would fill the room with pure joy".
He added that while he is grateful that James and Bevan were recognised for their roles in Lola’s cruel defenceless murder, that fact did not bring him any joy. He said: "As any parent can imagine, as any human can imagine, it will never come close to being enough.
"Lola didn’t just die, 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."
NSPCC Cymru said a child practice review, which will be carried out into Lola’s death, should establish whether more could have been done by agencies to prevent her death.
A spokesman for Pembrokeshire County Council confirmed a child practice review would take place into the death of Lola. They said: "We can confirm a child practice review is under way and this will be completed in accordance with statutory guidance.
"We do not at this stage have an agreed timescale for publication however a copy of the report will be made available to media outlets in advance of publication."
They added: "Whilst Pembrokeshire County Council has had some historical involvement with Lola and her family, the local authority was not involved with the family at the time of her death or indeed at any time during the relationship between Kyle Bevan and Sinead James.
"The local authority continues to offer its sincerest condolences to Lola's family for their loss, recognising that this outcome will bring little comfort to them, given they have lost Lola so young and in such tragic circumstances."
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