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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Sam Elliott-Gibbs

Mum and boyfriend guilty of killing boy, 2, who was left with 41 rib fractures

A mum and her boyfriend who accidentally recorded themselves abusing her two-year-old son have been found guilty of killing him.

Little Kyrell Matthews died in October 2019 after he went into cardiac arrest at his home in Thornton Heath, south London.

He was left with 41 rib fractures and was also discovered to have internal bleeding and a four centimetre cut to his liver.

The two-year-old, who was non-verbal, suffered beatings on a regular basis in the months leading up to his death, the court heard.

Kemar Brown has been found guilty of murder while Kyrell's mother, Phylesia Shirley, has been found not guilty of murder by a jury at the Old Bailey, but guilty of manslaughter.

They sat with blank expressions on their faces as they were handed their convictions (PA)

The cruel pair sat with blank expressions on their faces in the dock as they were handed their convictions.

Judge Mark Lucraft QC told them: "The court had to listen to some harrowing recordings that you made on your phone of the abuse carried out on your young boy.

"You should be utterly ashamed of what you have done."

He said they will now appear at the Old Bailey on March 25, where they will be sentenced.

Shirley, 24, had admitted allowing the death and allowing serious physical harm to a child but had denied murder.

Her then-boyfriend Brown, 28, had denied all three charges.

Kemar Brown has been found guilty of murder (Met Police)
Phylesia Shirley has been found not guilty of murder - but guilty of manslaughter (Met Police)

Prosecutors say Kyrell was repeatedly struck over several weeks, with secret audio recordings capturing the violence.

The court was shown heartbreaking new footage, Kyrell can be seen laughing and smiling at the camera just weeks before his death.

Another video shows him in his mother's arms on his birthday as she blows out candles on a cake. Shirley can be seen smiling at him.

The court had also heard that whilst Shirley was distressed and “hysterical” when Kyrell was declared dead, Brown, who was not the child’s father, remained calm and disengaged throughout.

Prosecutor Edward Brown QC told jurors at the Old Bailey: "Kyrell had his ribs crushed or broken by blows within the four weeks before October 20.

Kyrell had suffered 39 rib fractures on five separate occasions in the four weeks leading up to his death (PA)
He suffered beatings on a regular basis in the months leading up to his death (Met Police)

"At least one of the defendants plainly inflicted a significant number of injuries in at least five separate incidents in the four weeks leading up to ... Kyrell's death.

"The pain and distress in those four weeks when he was abused was brought vividly to the fore by those harrowing recordings.

"On October 20, his ribs were crushed once more - it killed him."

Police later found the secret audio files on Shirley's mobile phone, which were apparent attempts of the mum trying to catch Brown being unfaithful, but inadvertently captured the abuse, the prosecution said.

They included multiple audio files where it appeared Kyrell was hit repeatedly, with Brown saying "shut up", causing the toddler to cry and scream.

Prosecutors say on another occasion that Brown inflicted several blows on the little boy before telling him: "You have to ruin the fun."

Paramedics rushed to the scene and failed to find a heartbeat, telling the couple that Kyrell was “clinically dead”.

He was taken to Croydon University Hospital but despite “extensive efforts” by the medical staff, he was officially pronounced dead at 4.15pm.

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