A mother and her ‘monster’ partner have been jailed over the death of a two-year-old girl.
Kyle Bevan, 31, was given a life sentence for murdering Lola James, the daughter of his partner, in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, with a minimum term of 28 years.
Sinead James, Lola’s mother, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday to sixyears in jail for causing or allowing her death, but will have to serve half before she can be released on licence.
The attack at the hands of Bevan took place on 17 July 2020, with Lola dying from her injuries four days later.
Medical experts noted 101 separate injuries to her body, including a “catastrophic” brain injury.
Judge Mr Justice Griffiths said he was sure Bevan “was responsible for multiple assaults on the children before he murdered Lola”.
Before the sentencing, Lola’s grandmother, Nicola James, appealed directly to Bevan as she gave her victim statement, saying: “Look at me Kyle.”
Bevan barely reacted and showed no sign of remorse, while James was in floods of tears.
Ms James said: “There isn’t a single moment of any day that I don’t think of Lola.
“Lola was nearly three when she was killed, she had her whole life ahead of her. She’ll never grow up, never get old.”
The court heard Lola was a “charming, smiley, bubbly, mischievous little girl”.
Ms James ended her statement by looking once again and speaking directly toward Bevan in the dock.
“Kyle. You took the young innocent life of my granddaughter,” she said.
“You killed my Lola and you have broken her family.”
She added: “I hope the time that you do now, you can understand what you have done.”
Image: Lola suffered 101 separate injuries in the attack.
Daniel Thomas, Lola’s father said his daughter was “as bright as the golden sun” in a statement read out in court on his behalf.
“Lola won’t have another birthday or ride a bike or listen to her favourite story,” he said.
“I will never get to meet my daughter as a teenager or a woman.”
Mr Thomas said he missed his daughter “every single day”.
“All that I have been left with is guilt, heartache, pain and torment,” he added.
Bevan, from Aberystwyth, had argued that Lola fell down the stairs after the family dog – an American bulldog – pushed her.
Image: Sinead James arrives for the sentencing hearing
During the trial, Sinead James described her daughter as a “lovely little girl” and called Bevan a “monster” who “needs to rot in hell”.
“If I had got him out of the house my daughter would still be alive today,” she said.
‘Cruelly taken away’
During the four-week trial at Swansea Crown Court, the jury heard how Lola was murdered as her mother was asleep upstairs.
James said she was woken up by Bevan at around 7.20am on 17 July and he told her that Lola had fallen down the stairs and the dog had “pushed her”.
Image: Lola James's bedroom. Pic: CPS
She told 999 operators that Lola’s face was “swollen” and she was “really scared” after finding her daughter unresponsive on the sofa.
Police believed Bevan had tried to clean up the bath after putting Lola in there, as the rest of the house was generally dirty, either to try to revive her or to clean her of blood and vomit after the attack.
Investigators found a grey onesie stained by vomit and blood in the corner of the living room.
Read more from Sky News:Tributes to ‘wonderful’ 19-year old who died in Newport crashWelsh language blunder in emergency alert system
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
NSPCC Cymru has called for child protection to be made a “national priority” following Lola’s death.
The charity’s assistant director Tracey Holdsworth said Lola’s future had been “cruelly taken away”.
“The Child Practice Review into Lola’s death must establish whether more could have been done by agencies to save her, and drive the action required to help prevent such tragic cases in the future,” she added.
News
