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Liam Fee: Mother and partner found guilty of murdering two-year-old boy in Fife Liam Fee: Mother and partner found guilty of murdering two-year-old boy after attempting to blame abused child
(35 minutes later)
A mother and her partner have been found guilty of murdering her two-year-old son in Fife.  A mother and her partner have been found guilty of murdering her two-year-old son and attempting to blame it on another child.
Rachel and Nyomi Fee were found guilty of assaulting and killing their son Liam at his home near Glenrothes in March 2014. Rachel and Nyomi Fee were found guilty of assaulting and killing their son Liam at his home near Glenrothes in March 2014.
They were convicted following a seven-week trial heard at the High Court in Livingston. They were also convicted of attempting to defeat the ends of justice by attempting to frame another young bo,y who was one of two other children present in the house when Liam died.
The pair had blamed another boy for the death but the jury concluded they had subjected the toddler to escalating cruelty throughout his life. They were also found guilty of abusing two other children. The little boy was found dead at his home near Glenrothes on 22 March 2014 with heart injuries similar to those found on road crash victims after a severe blunt force trauma to his chest and abdomen.
The court heard how the two children – who cannot be named for legal reasons – were subjected to physical and pyschological abuse over several years.  Pathologists found more than 30 external injuries on the toddler's body and fractures to his upper arm and thigh.
They forced one child to sleep in a cage and the other to sleep in a room with rats and snakes they said "ate little boys".  The Fees tried to shift the blame for the death on to a boy of primary school age, who they claimed had been acting in a sexualised way towards Liam.
Senior investigating officer Detective Inspector Rory Hamilton praised the courage of the two children whose evidence, he said, was key to securing the conviction of the pair.  The child initially appeared to admit responsibility, claiming he had “strangled” Liam by putting his hands over his mouth, but in a series of five video interviews carried out separately over several weeks with both children, the truth began to emerge. 
Both primary school age children were present in the house the night Liam died and when the police arrived the women had blamed one for his death.  Far from being strangled, Liam had died from a single blow to the abdomen which had ruptured his heart, pathologists said.
The little boy then appeared to admit responsibility, claiming he had "strangled" the little boy by putting his hands over his mouth.  The jury heard there was an escalation of violence towards the toddler leading up to his death, which included the couple failing to get help for him when they knew he had a broken leg and fractured arm.
But in a series of five video recorded interviews carried out separately over several weeks with both children they began to admit the truth.  Prosecutor Alex Prentice QC told the court the women were guilty of “unyielding, heartless cruelty” and had shown “callous indifference” to the boy’s suffering.
Far from being strangled, Liam had died from a single blow to the abdomen which had ruptured his heart.  Instead of taking him to hospital, they searched questions such as “how do you die of a broken hip,” “how long can you live with a broken bone?” and “can wives be in prison together?” on Google.
In the days before his death, pathologists found he had also suffered a broken leg and arm.  Rachel and Nyomi Fee were convicted following a seven-week trial heard at the High Court in Livingston.
Analysis of both women's phones showed that the Monday before his death they had made internet searches asking "how do you treat a broken leg?" and "can wives go to prison together?". They were also found guilty of abusing two other children, including the child they attempted to frame, who cannot be named for legal reasons.
Interviews with family and friends also began to paint a picture of an intensely close couple who regarded Liam as "an inconvenience".  The court heard the two children, both of primary school age, were subjected to physical and psychological abuse over several years.
DI Hamilton said the deterioration in Liam's care began when his mother Rachel,31, left his father, Joseph Johnson, to move to Scotland to be with Nyomi,28, in August 2011. The boy wrongly blamed for Liam’s death told interviewers Nyomi Fee would show she was angry by calling him “dirty boy” and that he had been tied to a locked home-made cage during the night, with his hands and feet would be bound with cable ties to the makeshift construction using a fireguard and bars.
He said: "Nyomi would certainly appear to be quite a domineering part of the relationship, certainly from what the investigation uncovered." The child also described how he would sometimes be naked in the cage and had his hands bound behind his back, while at other times he would be tied to a cot with a dressing-gown cord and coat belts.
Jurors were moved to tears after a video showing Liam's body was showed to the court.  The trial heard how the boy tried to flee on three separate occasions from the Fees' house, and had even made a rope out of bandages to aid his escape.
“I tried to run away because of bad treatment,” the boy said.
During interviews, the second boy said he was banned from going to the toilet in the night but given cold showers “for 15 or 20 minutes” if he wet the bed.
He told police Fee tied him naked to a chair and left him alone in a room all night in the dark, with snakes and rats in boxes.
The boy, who said he is scared of the dark, said the snakes included a boa constrictor which he was told “eats naughty little boys”.
He said he “felt unsafe” with both women and was “scared” of being punished when he stayed with them.
Detective Inspector Rory Hamilton, the senior investigating officer, praised the courage of the two children whose evidence was key to securing the conviction of the pair. 
He said the deterioration in Liam's care began when his mother Rachel, 31, left his father to move to Scotland to be with Nyomi, 28, in August 2011.
“Nyomi would certainly appear to be quite a domineering part of the relationship, certainly from what the investigation uncovered,” Det Insp Hamilton added.
Jurors were moved to tears after a video showing Liam's body was shown to the court. 
After 12 minutes, one juror raised their hand to ask for a break in proceedings to give people time to compose themselves. After 12 minutes, one juror raised their hand to ask for a break in proceedings to give people time to compose themselves. 
The silent recording, taken hours after the toddler died, was taken by detectives.The silent recording, taken hours after the toddler died, was taken by detectives.
Going through every room in the house, numerous family photos were spotted on the walls as well as toys dotted around the rooms.Going through every room in the house, numerous family photos were spotted on the walls as well as toys dotted around the rooms.
The final images of the video showed Liam lying dead on his bedroom floor, dressed in cartoon character pyjamas with a duvet covering him up to his neck. The final images of the video showed Liam lying dead on his bedroom floor, dressed in cartoon character pyjamas with a duvet covering him up to his neck, appearing as if he were sleeping.
He looked like he was sleeping.
Fife Child Protection Committee has said it would carry out a significant case review after it was found that social services had been alerted to Fees' abuse but failed to take any action.Fife Child Protection Committee has said it would carry out a significant case review after it was found that social services had been alerted to Fees' abuse but failed to take any action.
Liam's nursery had alerted social services after they noticed Liam had become withdrawn - in contrast to the happy little boy he had been when he first arrived. Liam's nursery had alerted social services after they noticed Liam had become withdrawn - in contrast to the happy little boy he had been when he first arrived. 
Staff also found he had a lot of injuries and was losing weight.  Staff also found he had a lot of injuries and was losing weight and his childminder also raised concerns. 
Around this time his childminder also raised concerns about him.  Despite this, a senior Fife social worker admitted in council his case had been dropped as he ”fell off their radar“ when a member of staff went on sick leave and no-one took over the case. 
Despite this, a senior Fife social worker admitted in council his case had been dropped as he "fell off their radar" when a member of staff went on sick leave and no-one took over the case.  Vice-chairman of the Fife Child Protection Committee, Douglas Dunlop, described the death as a ”tragedy“ and said the body would reflect on the case ”to see whether there is any scope for improvement“.
Vice-chairman of the Fife Child Protection Committee, Douglas Dunlop told the BBC: "The circumstances of supporting families in situations such as this can be complex and there were a range of agencies involved in supporting Liam and his family and the details of that will be looked at through the Significant Case Review." The couple, originally of Ryton, Tyne and Wear, will be sentenced on July 6 at the High Court in Edinburgh.
Additional reporting by PAAdditional reporting by PA