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Man who murdered two-year old Lola James jailed for at least 28 years Man who murdered two-year old Lola James jailed for at least 28 years
(32 minutes later)
Kyle Bevan given life sentence for murder of stepdaughter, with girl’s mother, Sinead James, given six-year term Kyle Bevan given life sentence for murder of stepdaughter, with girl’s mother Sinead James given six-year term
A man who murdered his two-year-old stepdaughter while her mother lay asleep upstairs has been jailed for life. The stepfather and mother of a two-year-old girl who died after receiving more than 100 injuries in a six-and-a-half-hour attack at the family home have been jailed over her killing.
Kyle Bevan was handed a prison term of a minimum of 28 years for the murder of Lola James. Kyle Bevan, 31, was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Lola James, who died from the sort of injuries usually seen in car crash victims or people who have fallen from a significant height. He was told he would serve at least 28 years before he was considered for release.
Lola’s mother, Sinead James, was also given a six-year sentence after being convicted of causing or allowing her daughter’s death. Lola’s mother, Sinead James, 30, who was convicted of causing or allowing the child’s death, was jailed for six years.
Bevan, 31, denied harming the girl, and said the family dog had pushed her down the stairs. But a jury convicted him of murder at Swansea crown court earlier this month. Sentencing the pair at Swansea crown court, Mr Justice Griffiths said Bevan had beaten Lola into a coma. “He started to hurt Lola at midnight and he carried on until she was unconscious at 6.30am,” the judge said. “This was a sustained, deliberate and very violent attack. The attack was completely unprovoked.”
James, 30, who had been in bed when the assault is believed to have happened, was found guilty of causing or allowing her daughter’s death. Griffiths said Bevan had used weapons to kill Lola and had shaken her violently. She would have endured “mental and physical suffering” before falling into the coma.
More details soon … He said it was the culmination of months of physical abuse, adding: “I’m sure Kyle Bevan did this as an exercise of power, an assertion of superiority over a helpless child.”
The judge said that after the murder, Bevan tried to cover his tracks, scrubbing Lola’s body so thoroughly that he removed her transfer tattoos and falsely claiming she had fallen down the stairs after a clash with the family dog.
Griffiths acknowledged that James had been a victim of domestic abuse in the past but he said she shut her eyes to the danger Bevan posed, prioritising her relationship with him over concerns for Lola.
A child practice review will take place to establish whether agencies could have done more to protect Lola, who was attacked at the family home in Haverfordwest, south-west Wales. The judge said James had hidden previous injuries Lola had received from health professionals, social workers and the police.
NSPCC Cymru’s assistant director Tracey Holdsworth said: “The review must be robust in finding whether more could have been done to protect this little girl and how agencies working together can better prevent future tragedies.”
Lola, described in court as a “happy, beautiful and busy little girl”, was found to have 101 external injuries, “catastrophic” head trauma and extensive damage to both her eyes.
Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, said Bevan, from Aberystwyth, west Wales, who was a drug user, subjected the girl to the assault while he was alone with her between the evening of 16 July and the morning of 17 July 2020.
James told the court she was asleep when her daughter’s injuries were caused. The jury heard she was woken by bangs but went back to sleep without checking on Lola when Bevan assured her there was no problem.
David Elias KC, for James, said she had been a victim of domestic abuse in the past and was “frightened of every man” but believed at the start of her relationship with Bevan that he would be her “protector”.
Reading her victim personal statement, Lola’s grandmother Nicola James told Bevan to look at her, and said: “You took the young, innocent life of my granddaughter. You have taken so much more that you can’t imagine. You killed my Lola. You have broken her family.”
She described Lola as a “cheeky monkey”, a “charming, smiling, bubbly little girl” who was happiest outside caked in mud eating strawberries or apples.
Daniel Thomas, Lola’s biological father, said she was “as bright as the golden sun” and her laughter would fill rooms with “pure joy”. He said she was the victim of a “cruel” murder, her “tiny body” savaged. “I miss Lola every single day,” he said.
A spokesperson for the local authority said: “Whilst Pembrokeshire county council has had some historical involvement with Lola and her family, the local authority was not involved with the family at the time of her death or indeed at any time during the relationship between Kyle Bevan and Sinead James.”