Couple guilty of murdering grandson they subjected to weeks of 'pain and misery'
A jury convicted two grandparents of killing their grandson, age two. Ethan Ives-Griffiths suffered severe dehydration and appeared extremely thin when he collapsed from a fatal head injury on August 14, 2021.
Mold Crown Court learned that Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, abused the child regularly at their Flintshire home in North Wales. The grandparents treated Ethan cruelly and made him their target for violence.
The court also found Shannon Ives, 28, the child's mother, guilty of allowing his death and child cruelty. Shannon had been living at the same house with her son.
The trial lasted five and a half weeks. Jury members became visibly emotional during parts of the proceedings. Security footage from the family home showed Michael Ives lifting his grandson by one arm and appearing to hit him while placing him in a car seat.
Officials had placed Ethan on the child protection register. This required social workers to check on him every 10 days. Shannon Ives met with her social worker Michael Cornish on August 5. She spoke to him at the front door and said Ethan was sleeping.
Social worker Michael Cornish tried to visit the home several days before Ethan died, but nobody answered the door. The family also cancelled a planned visit with a health visitor on August 13.
Shannon Ives had escaped domestic violence from her Mold home in June 2021. Her parents claimed she hit her son frequently. Michael Ives told the jury his daughter had a bad temper and would slap Ethan twice daily.
Shannon Ives testified that her parents treated her badly and abused her during childhood. She called them horrible people. The court learned that Ethan was forced to stand with his hands on his head as punishment for bad behavior.
Timeline of Events:
April 27, 2019 - Shannon Ives gives birth to Ethan Ives-Griffiths.
June 9, 2021 - Police respond to Shannon Ives's home in Mold. Officers arrest her partner Will Griffiths for controlling behavior. Shannon and Ethan receive protection and move in with her sister in Garden City, Deeside.
June 24, 2021 - Ethan stays with his grandparents Michael and Kerry Ives on Kingsley Road in Garden City. His mother continues living with her sister. The child returns to his mother after a short time.
July 16, 2021 - Both Ethan and Shannon move into the Kingsley Road house.
July 22, 2021 - Social worker Michael Cornish visits Shannon's sister's home but learns she has moved. He then goes to the Kingsley Road address. He sees Ethan and talks to Shannon. He explains that Ethan is on the child protection register and must be seen every 10 days.
August 4, 2021 - Security cameras record Ethan playing on a trampoline in the backyard.
The footage shows Michael Ives lifting his grandson by his arm. Medical experts testified that Ethan already had brain damage at this time, based on how he looked in the video.
August 5, 2021 - Mr Cornish calls Shannon Ives to set up a meeting. They discuss the family needing to stay home because of Covid. He arrives at the house after 3pm but only speaks at the door. Shannon tells him Ethan is sleeping.
August 9, 2021 - A planned meeting with social services staff and Shannon Ives is scheduled. Shannon does not show up. She texts Mr Cornish saying she feels sick, but later admits this was false.
August 12, 2021 - Security cameras show Ethan leaving the house for the first time since August 4. The video shows Michael Ives carrying him by his arm to the car. Ives appears to strike twice with his arm after putting the child in his car seat. Health visitor Ellie Jones and Mr Cornish try to visit the home, but nobody answers the door.
August 13, 2021 - The Ives family later tells police that Ethan collapsed on this day, but they did not get medical help. Shannon Ives cancels a scheduled visit with the health visitor. Video shows the grandparents taking Ethan to Tesco. Prosecutors claim Michael Ives copies Ethan's walking style when they return home. Mr Cornish tries to call Shannon Ives, but she does not answer.
August 14, 2021 - 9.02pm - Shannon Ives talks on the phone when her mother calls for her to come downstairs. Ethan has collapsed. Michael and Kerry Ives were in the living room with their grandson when this occurred. Both told police nothing happened to make him faint.
9.20pm - Kerry Ives calls 999. Paramedics arrive at the house and rush the child to hospital.
August 16, 2021 - Doctors declare Ethan dead at 6pm at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
Video from August 4 showed Michael Ives carrying his grandson by his arm. Prosecutor Caroline Rees KC said he handled Ethan like a bag of trash being thrown away. The recording from the back garden of their four-bedroom house showed Ethan looking unsteady on the trampoline or lying down while other children jumped. The video also showed Michael Ives spraying the garden hose at him, putting the child's hands on his head and signaling another child to hit Ethan.
Michael Ives watched the video in court and said he felt shame. He admitted being cruel and neglectful to the child, but denied other forms of abuse.
Security cameras showed Ethan did not exit the house from August 4 until August 12. On that day, Michael Ives carried him by his upper arm again, placed him in a car seat and seemed to punch at the child.
Medical professionals examined Ethan after his death. They discovered stomach injuries that likely resulted from being hit during the days before he collapsed. Additional injuries included bruises that matched grip marks on his leg and face.
Medical experts testified that Ethan would have died from lack of water within days if he had not suffered the head injury. At his death, he weighed only 10kg, the court learned.
The jury heard medical testimony that Ethan's fatal head injury resulted from intentional force or shaking. This occurred at the moment of his collapse or minutes before on Saturday evening, August 14, 2021.
Michael and Kerry Ives came from Wolverhampton originally. They were in the living room with Ethan when he collapsed while his mother spoke on the phone upstairs. Both testified that nothing happened to the child before he fainted as they watched television.
Kerry Ives stated she immediately called Shannon Ives to come downstairs. However, the court heard she waited 18 minutes before calling emergency services.
Medical staff transported Ethan to the Countess of Chester Hospital first. They later moved him to Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, where he died two days afterward.
