Foster carers who took in evil Craig Mulligan warned the teenager was obsessed with killing, months before he helped murder little Logan Mwangi.
But despite being described as a “monster” with a “desire for violence”, social services allowed him to live with his step-dad John Cole and the boy’s mum Angharad Williamson.
The heartless trio were today jailed for life after a trial littered with harrowing details of the tragic five-year-old’s miserable existence at their hands and his violent death.
And a safeguarding review has been launched to unearth failings that left Logan at the mercy of vicious killers who later dumped his battered and abused body in the River Ogmore near their home in Sarn, South Wales.
Cole, 40, was ordered to serve a minimum of 29 years while Williamson, 30, got at least 28 years and 14-year-old Mulligan 15 years.
A reporting restriction in place to protect his identity was lifted.
Judge Mrs Justice Jefford said it was of “significant public interest” to know why Mulligan had been placed into the family home just five days earlier.
NSPCC Cymru assistant director Tracey Holdsworth added: “What happened to Logan should never be forgotten. It should make us more determined in our efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect.
“It is vital that the child safeguarding practice review leaves no stone unturned in establishing what took place before Logan died and whether more could have been done to protect him by the agencies involved with his family.”
Ogmore MP Chris Elmore said: “Our community is still in shock at what happened.
“It is incomprehensible that those who should have loved Logan most did what they did. I hope today these sentences give Logan some justice.”
Logan’s dad Ben Mwangi paid tribute to his son after his killers were sentenced. He said: “The hole that has been left in the hearts of all who knew Logan will never be filled.
“No amount of time can heal the wounds that have been inflicted.”
Mulligan had spent time with foster carers Clive and Gillian Finch, who had been looking after children for more than 40 years.
They had never ended a placement early before coming into contact with the teenager. But Clive said he was “terrified” of Mulligan and he “feared for the safety of my family” after the teen threatened to kill them all.
His daughter said she heard the yob make repeated threats to kill Logan while living with them, even on the week he was allowed to move home aged 13.
And she claimed Mulligan was “always talking about killing people” and was “obsessed with killing”.
Social worker Debbie Williams revealed in court she had not been told about the boy, who was obsessed with horror film The Purge, threatening the Finch family.
Mulligan was raised against a backdrop of violence and deceit and was “idolised” his step-father.
His mother Rebecca Trudgill was in a relationship with Cole for 10 years but it ended in 2019. The thug met Williamson and Mulligan was taken into care after Trudgill faked cancer.
As he had criminal convictions, Cole was banned from unsupervised contact with children. But in May 2020, he applied to have parental rights of his step-son.
The request was granted just five days before Logan was killed.
During the trial, jurors were told how Logan had suffered horrific abuse leading up to his death.
Mulligan is said to have “swept” his legs from under him while using his hand to slam his head into the ground.
He had done so, according to Williamson, on the orders of Cole, who had just punched Logan.
National Front member Cole also made the youngster do press ups as “punishment” and he was made to face the wall for 30 minutes if he apparently misbehaved.
He branded Logan “Coco Pop” and “dehumanised” him because of his mixed race heritage.
Logan was locked in his filthy bedroom at home for 10 days like a “prisoner” after catching Covid.
His stammer had also worsened around Cole and he had started self-harming.
The final, fatal attack was carried out by Cole and Mulligan at their home on July 31 last year, while Williamson stood by and “did nothing”.
His killers were seen on CCTV carrying the youngster’s lifeless body to the river in the early hours of the morning. He had been squeezed into a Nike holdall which measured just 2ft 2ins long.
Logan was later found with “severe injuries” likened to falling from a great height or a “high velocity” car crash after being dumped like “fly-tipped rubbish” in the water. After the killing Mulligan was heard by concerned social workers singing: “I love kids. I f*****g love kids. I love to punch kids in the head. It’s orgasmic.”
But the depraved trio then hatched an “elaborate charade” to cover up Logan’s murder.
Williamson called 999 at 5.45am and began “hyperventilating” as she falsely reported her son missing.
Prosecutor Caroline Rees QC told the court she played the “part of a distraught mother to the best of her acting abilities”.
Her cruel facade even continued in prison where she “never shed a real tear” and only turned on the waterworks when guards came to check on her. As the trial rumbled on, it emerged Williamson had tried covering her own guilt by blaming her two co-defendants.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg Safeguarding Board confirmed a review would be held into Logan’s death. A spokesman said: “This child practice review aims to examine agencies’ involvement with Logan and his family to identify what lessons can be learnt.
“A report is due to be presented to the regional safeguarding board in the autumn 2022, before being submitted to the Welsh Government.”
