By Emily Caulkett-
A mother, stepfather and a teenager have been given life sentences for murdering five-year-old Logan Mwangi and dumping his body in a river.
John Cole, 40, will serve a minimum term of 29 years in prison while Logan’s mother, Angharad Williamson, 31, will serve at least 28 years.
The teenage boy, 14, will serve at least 15 years in jail All three were convicted of murdering Logan in July 2021.
His body was found in the River Ogmore, near his home in Sarn, Bridgend county.
Mrs Justice Jefford told Cardiff Crown Court that the attack on the “defenceless” schoolboy, who weighed 3st 1lb (20kg), was “nothing short of horrifying”.
The prosecution is body was dumped like “fly-tipped rubbish”, the prosecution said.
On 20 July, Logan tested positive for Covid-19 and he was shut in his bedroom for 10 days with a baby gate stopping him from leaving.
Mrs Justice Jefford described this decision by the couple as “extreme” and said the treatment of him was “the culmination of treatment that had dehumanised him”.
Logan’s stammer is said to have worsened, becoming particularly bad around Cole, the jury was told, and he wet himself more frequently and began self-harming.
The jury were shown extensive CCTV footage from nearby houses which showed Cole and the teenager at 02:43 BST on 31 July moving Logan’s body in a sports bag to the nearby river, where they dumped it.
They were caught again as they came back to the house to pick up the dinosaur pyjama top Logan had been wearing, which police found in a wooded area with a big cut in.
Talking about the cover-up, Mrs Justice Jefford said what they did was “careful and calculated and not the product of panic”.
“It is impossible to imagine the terror a five-year-old would feel suffering those horrific injuries inflicted upon him by those regarded as his family with the compliance of his mother.”
The concealment of Logan’s body in the river, was described as “heartless”, “calculated and orchestrated”.
The jury also heard the teenager had a “desire for violence” and pushed Logan down the stairs, breaking his arm. A support worker once heard him singing: “I love to punch kids in the head, it’s orgasmic.”
Mrs Justice Jefford told the trio they were “all responsible for Logan’s death and all the anguish that has flowed from it”.
“Because he was killed in his own home, it is not possible to be sure what has happened to him,” she said.
John Cole and Angharad Williamson Image: Wales Police
She described the injuries Logan suffered as “the sort of injuries seen in abused children”.
Logan, a previously “smiling, cheerful little boy”, died after suffering a “brutal and sustained” attack at home, leaving him with 56 “catastrophic” injuries, including extensive bruising to the back of his head and tears in his liver and bowel.
Friends of the couple said Cole told them he did not like Logan, and others said his attitude changed after becoming obsessed with the idea that Williamson had cheated on him with Logan’s father Ben Mwangi.
‘I don’t want to go back to sleep’
Ben Mwangi wept as his victim impact statement was read out to the court on his behalf.
In it, he recalled collapsing and hitting his head when he was told of his son’s death while at work.
“I just felt like every fibre in my body had died and I couldn’t stop crying.”
After finding out about Williamson’s arrest, he said he felt “devastated that I couldn’t have been there to protect him”.
Mr Mwangi said he could no longer sleep and experienced recurring nightmares.