This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-22999699
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Keanu Williams case: Mother guilty of murdering toddler | Keanu Williams case: Mother guilty of murdering toddler |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A mother has been found guilty of murdering her two-year-old son. | A mother has been found guilty of murdering her two-year-old son. |
| Keanu Williams died in January 2011 after being found with 37 injuries including a fractured skull and torn abdomen in Ward End, Birmingham. | Keanu Williams died in January 2011 after being found with 37 injuries including a fractured skull and torn abdomen in Ward End, Birmingham. |
| Rebecca Shuttleworth, 25, of Cottingham Road, Manchester, was convicted by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court. | Rebecca Shuttleworth, 25, of Cottingham Road, Manchester, was convicted by a jury at Birmingham Crown Court. |
| Her partner Luke Southerton, 32, of Hagley Road, Birmingham, was cleared of murder but convicted of one count of child cruelty. | Her partner Luke Southerton, 32, of Hagley Road, Birmingham, was cleared of murder but convicted of one count of child cruelty. |
| Shuttleworth, formerly of Hay Mills, Birmingham, was also convicted of four counts of child cruelty. | |
| The pair, who had both denied the charges, will be sentenced on Tuesday. | The pair, who had both denied the charges, will be sentenced on Tuesday. |
| An inquiry has started into the role all agencies that came into contact with Keanu and his family, including social workers and the police, played before his death. | An inquiry has started into the role all agencies that came into contact with Keanu and his family, including social workers and the police, played before his death. |
| During the trial, the jury heard Southerton called 999 from his flat at about 19:40 on 9 January and emergency crews arrived to find Keanu, also known as Kiwi, collapsed on a sofa. | |
| The toddler was confirmed dead later that day. | |
| The six-month trial heard many of the injuries found on his body could have been inflicted up to 48 hours before the emergency call was made. | |
| 'Suffered terribly' | |
| Outside court, Det Ch Insp Caroline Marsh said: "I don't like to imagine the kind of death this little boy suffered because it clearly was horrendous. | |
| "He did suffer terribly at the hands of his mother who should have loved him unconditionally and clearly she did that to him." | |
| At the start of the trial, prosecutor Christopher Hotten QC told the jury Keanu's injuries had not been an "isolated event" but had been the culmination of a long period of ill-treatment. | |
| He said the fact Shuttleworth had not sought help for Keanu "until it was too late" proved she knew his injuries were "incapable of sensible explanation". | |
| A post-mortem examination found there had been bruising to the boy's body consistent with him having been struck with an object such as a stick or rod with some force. | |
| A fist-sized tear was also found in part of Keanu's abdomen, which had caused substantial bleeding, the court heard. | |
| Keanu's grandfather Richard Lampett told the trial he had seen bruises and bite marks on the boy's body. | |
| He said he had taken photographs of bruising to Keanu's face in December 2009, more than a year before his death. |