The bereft grandmother of a murdered toddler faced down the little girl's killer in court and told him he had "broken" her family. Brave Nicola James, gran of two-year-old Lola James, read out a powerful victim impact statement in court as killer Kyle Bevan, the partner of Lola's mother Sinead James, was jailed for life with a minimum of 28 years.
The little girl's mother was jailed for six years for causing or allowing the death of a child after she chose "to prioritise her relationship with him over her own daughter’s physical safety", Swansea Crown Court heard. You can recap the sentencing in full here.
During Tuesday's hearing Nicola James went into the witness box and said she thinks about her granddaughter, who was murdered in July 2020, every single day and will never come to terms with the loss of her "cheeky monkey". Heartbreakingly Ms James said she blames herself for what happened and wonders why she couldn’t see what was going on.
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She said: "Look at me, Kyle... There isn't a single moment of any day that I don't think of Lola. I don't think I will ever come to terms with what has happened. Lola Patricia James was just two years and 10 months old when she was murdered. I constantly blame myself for what has happened - why didn't I see something, why didn't I notice? I blame everyone and everything in the attempt to try and understand why and how this has happened.
"Lola was nearly three when she was killed. She had her whole life ahead of her. She will never grow up, never get old, never experience all the things she should have in life: good times with friends; her first boyfriend; learning to cook; teaching her to grow things in the garden; taking her first Holy Communion and choosing a dress for her...
"All these things have been taken away from her and from us. Her clothes still hang in the wardrobe and her toys are still here yet she is not. Lola was my cheeky monkey - if there was any mischief to be done in the house she would be the one that was involved. If I said no to something, she would do it. So independent. I remember a time when she wanted me to paint her nails for her but it was late and so I said we'd do it tomorrow. However some time later I went to check on her - she was in my bed and she had painted her nails and toenails in bright red nail polish. Not just her nails but her feet, ankles, and my bed. She looked at me and I just laughed. How could I be cross with her.
"I sit outside every night and say goodnight to my father and Lola in heaven. The brightest star is my father, and the star next to him is Lola. I call her my Lola star. I talk to her about everything that has happened in the day...
"Lola would spend her days whilst with me dancing around the garden eating the strawberries and apples that we had grown and searching for insects, butterflies and other creepy crawlies. She was at her happiest when she was caked in mud, playing in her shots and wellies. She was in her element in the garden and outdoors. She'd go into a charming, smiley, bubbly mischievous little girl with such a character. To the outside world she may have appeared shy but with those you loved you were outgoing and cheeky. You had such a lovely friendship group and you were surrounded by friends and family who loved you. We have many memories of you playing and having fun... children's parties, summer at the park, and in the garden. So many previous memories.
"Kyle, you took the young innocent life of my granddaughter. At the same time you have taken so much more that you can't even imagine. You killed my Lola and you have broken her family. I hope the time you do now, you can understand what you have done."
A victim impact statement from Lola’s father Daniel Thomas was read to the court by junior prosecution barrister Carina Hughes. In the statement Mr 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 said as a parent all he could hope for was that his daughter would continue to "grow with happiness and health" and "with the courage in her heart to know she could be anything and do anything she wanted" but that will never be. He added: "I miss Lola every single day and my heart hurts every single day."
He said seeing Bevan and James brought to justice brought him no respite. "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 evillest 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."
Bevan battered Lola to death at her home in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. During the attack he left the little girl with the kind of injuries usually found in car crash victims.
After raining down blows on Lola in the attack in the middle of July 2020 he began searching for information on the internet about head injuries before taking photos and a video of her limp body in a sickening plot to try and cover his tracks. He instead messaged his mother – a healthcare worker – who then raised the alarm. You can hear the call that she made here.
Police later found that the toddler appeared to have been washed, with temporary tattoos she had on her arm scrubbed off, and her hair was soaking wet. A Frozen hoody of hers, which was stained with vomit, was then hidden in a cupboard. And while the rest of the family home was an absolute state the bathroom was suspiciously clean. You can read about this and see photos of the inside of the house here.
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