A mother has been found guilty of murdering her five-year-old son alongside his step-father and a teenage boy.
Logan Mwangi’s body was discovered in the River Ogmore in Sarn, Bridgend, last July, just a few hundred metres from the flat he shared with his family.
The child, also known as Logan Williamson, had suffered 56 “catastrophic” external injuries similar to those found in victims of high-speed crashes or a fall from a height.
His mother Angharad Williamson, 31, and her partner John Cole, 40, were convicted of murder by a jury of five men and seven women at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday after five hours of deliberation.
A 14-year-old boy, who cannot be named because of his age, was also found guilty of murder.
Williamson fell to the floor of the dock screaming “no, no, no” as she was found guilty of her son’s murder.
She struggled with the dock officers as she was led away, shouting at Cole: “You lying motherf****** murderer. You liar.”
Logan’s father Ben Mwangi was also in court to hear the jury return its verdicts.
The court previously heard Williamson reported Logan missing at 5.45am on 31 July 2021 and accused a woman, against whom she held a grudge, of abducting him.
Logan was found wearing only mis-matched pyjamas in the river by police a short time later and was confirmed dead in hospital.
CCTV footage shown to the jury during the trial captured Cole and the teenage boy, who was 13 years old at the time, leaving the family’s address in the early hours of 31 July.
Cole was carrying something in his arms towards the river that he later confirmed was Logan’s dead body.
Experts said Logan’s injuries could have only been caused by a “brutal and sustained assault” inflicted in the hours, or days, prior to his death. They also said the injuries were “consistent with child abuse”.
In the months and weeks leading up to his death, Logan had been “dehumanised” by his family, prosecutors said.
His stammer is said to have worsened, becoming particularly bad around Cole. He wet himself more frequently and began self-harming.
Friends of the couple said Cole told them he did not like Logan, and others said his attitude changed after becoming obsessed with the idea Williamson had cheated with Logan’s father.
After Williamson gave birth to his child, Cole was reluctant to let Logan see the baby and later claimed the boy had tried to smother the infant.
Medics made a safeguarding referral to the police after Logan suffered a broken arm in August 2020, with Williamson saying he had fallen down the stairs.
She took him to hospital the day after the incident and said she thought he had only dislocated his shoulder and had tried to put it back.
Later she told a friend the youth had confessed to pushing Logan down the stairs but it was not until January last year she told the police.
By March, due to concerns over Cole, Logan and his younger sibling had been assigned their own social worker, Gaynor Rush.
In June, a month before Logan died, the family were removed from the child protection register – meaning it was believed there was no longer a risk of significant harm.
A foster family the youth stayed with claimed to have heard him say he wanted to kill Logan.
They said they reported the teen’s “desire for violence” and threats to harm Logan to his social worker Debbie Williams but that she seemed unconcerned. Ms Williams denies this.
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.”
Weeks before he died, Logan suffered a broken collarbone but he never got medical treatment.
On 20 July Logan tested positive for Covid-19 and he was shut in his bedroom with a baby gate barring him from leaving.
Prosecutor Caroline Rees QC 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.”
Williamson claimed that two days before Logan’s body was found an argument about a spilt drink escalated and ended with Cole and the youth attacking him.
She accused Cole of punching Logan twice in the stomach and ordering the youth to “sweep” Logan if he stuttered or flinched.
Moments later the youth carried out the martial arts-style manoeuvre, kicking his legs out from under him while using his hand to slam his head to the ground.
Williamson said she screamed for them to stop but said Cole replied: “The only way this boy understands is pain.”
Two days later, she phoned the police at 5.45am reporting Logan missing – claiming to have awoken to find him gone and accusing a woman of taking him.
Police arrived at the flat to find Williamson hysterical, while Cole and the youth could be seen walking around the area calling for him.
Prosecutors said this was part of an “elaborate” cover-up concocted by the defendants and all three were accused of perverting the course of justice, of which Williamson and youth were convicted.
The judge adjourned the case for sentencing which will take place at a later date, yet to be confirmed.
Speaking after the verdicts, Detective Inspector Lianne Rees, who led the murder investigation, said: “Logan was a beautiful, bright and innocent five-year-old little boy with his whole life ahead of him.
“It is difficult to imagine how Logan must have suffered at the hands of those who he trusted, and inconceivable that those who should have loved and protected him betrayed him in the worst possible way.
“Attempts to cover up the crime in the hours following Logan’s death and the subsequent web of lies and deceit that were to follow are an indication of their callousness and lack of remorse.
“The impact of Logan’s tragic death on so many people cannot be measured.
“Nothing can bring Logan back, but I hope that today’s outcome will bring some comfort to those who loved him.”
Additional reporting by Press Association
