A woman and her former partner have been jailed for life for the murder of her toddler son who suffered broken ribs and limbs in a “cruel and brutal” attack.
Alfie Phillips was 18 months old when he was killed by his mother, Sian Hedges, 27, and her former partner Jack Benham, 35, after the pair had been drinking whisky and taking cocaine, Maidstone crown court was told.
The boy died on 28 November 2020 after suffering 70 injuries including a “myriad of bruises”, broken ribs, arms and a leg. Traces of cocaine were also found in his body, the court heard.
On Friday, Mr Justice Cavanagh sentenced Hedges and Benham, to life imprisonment with minimum terms of 19 years and 23 years respectively.
Addressing the defendants, the judge described the attack as “cruel and brutal” and criticised their efforts to try to cover up the assault.
He added: “Your first thoughts were for yourselves. You lied about what had happened in the caravan, and you maintained your lies through police interviews and at trial.”
The jury had reached a unanimous verdict after less than 10 hours’ deliberation, following a 10-week trial. Hedges, of Yelverton, Devon, and Benham, of Hernhill, Kent, had denied harming Alfie.
The overnight attack occurred in Benham’s caravan in Hernhill.
In a victim impact statement read in court, Alfie’s father, Sam Phillips, said: “After the trial we still feel we deserve answers. I will never know the truth about what happened to my son. I never got to hear him say his first proper words, I never got to have a conversation with him, I was robbed of the opportunity to see him grow up.”
In his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Cavanagh said it was a “great tragedy” Alfie did not have the chance to “enjoy a full and happy life”.
He said: “He (Alfie) had a cheeky grin and was full of energy and life. He was into everything and interested in everything. He melted the hearts of everyone he met.
“The victim impact statements of his father, Sam Phillips, and his grandfather, Mark Demain, vividly illustrate how much he was loved and how much grief and devastation his murder has caused to those who loved him.
“It is a great tragedy that Alfie did not have the chance to grow up and to enjoy a full and happy life.”
The sentences of both Hedges and Benham are minus 313 days already spent in custody on remand.
