Logan Mwangi: Mother and stepfather jailed for murdering boy, 5, found dead in river
Primary school pupil suffered 56 ‘catastrophic’ injuries similar to victims of high-speed crashes or a fall from height
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A mother and stepfather have been jailed for life for the murder of her five-year-old son.
John Cole, 40, was told he would spend at least 29 years behind bars, while Angharad Williamson, 31, will serve a minimum of 28 years’ imprisonment.
A 14-year-old boy, identified by the court today as Craig Mulligan, was detained for a minimum of 15 years after also being found guilty of Logan’s murder.
Logan’s body was discovered in the River Ogmore in Sarn, Bridgend, last July, just a few hundred metres from the flat he shared with his family.
The child, also known as Logan Williamson, had suffered 56 “catastrophic” external injuries similar to those found in victims of high-speed crashes or a fall from a height.
Passing sentence on Thursday, Ms Justice Jefford said: “You are responsible for Logan’s death and all the anguish that has followed from it.
“Because he was killed in his own home, it is not possible to be sure what has happened to him.
“Shortly before his death, at which time he was 3ft 5in and weighed only 3st 1lb, he was subjected to a brutal attack.”
The judge described the injuries Logan had suffered and added: “Also the sort of injuries seen in abused children.
“Inflicting these injuries on a small, defenceless five-year-old is nothing short of horrific.”
Williamson and her partner Cole were convicted of murder by a jury of five men and seven women at Cardiff Crown Court in April after five hours of deliberation.
The 14-year-old boy was also found guilty of murder.
Both Williamson and the youth were convicted of a further charge of perverting the course of justice – an offence Cole had admitted before trial.
Williamson fell to the floor of the dock screaming “no, no, no” as she was found guilty of her son’s murder at a previous hearing.
She struggled with the dock officers as she was led away, shouting at Cole: “You lying motherf****** murderer. You liar.”
Logan’s father Ben Mwangi was also in court to hear the jury return its verdicts.
The trial heard that Williamson reported Logan missing at 5.45am on 31 July 2021 and accused a woman, against whom she held a grudge, of abducting him.
Logan, previously a “smiling, cheerful little boy”, was discovered in the River Ogmore in Pandy Park that same morning.
Police found him partially submerged, wearing dinosaur pyjama bottoms and a Spider-Man top just 250 metres from his home. He was later confirmed dead in hospital.
CCTV footage shown to the jury during the trial captured Cole and the teenage boy, who was 13 years old at the time, leaving the family’s address in the early hours of 31 July.
Cole was carrying something in his arms towards the river that he later confirmed was Logan’s dead body.
Experts said Logan’s injuries could have been caused only by a “brutal and sustained assault” inflicted in the hours or days prior to his death. They also said the injuries were “consistent with child abuse”.
In the months and weeks leading up to his death, Logan had been “dehumanised” by his family, prosecutors said.
His stammer is said to have worsened, becoming particularly bad around Cole. He wet himself more frequently and began self-harming.
Friends of the couple said Cole told them he did not like Logan, and others said his attitude changed after he became obsessed with the idea Williamson had cheated with Logan’s father.
After Williamson gave birth to his child, Cole was reluctant to let Logan see the baby and later claimed the boy had tried to smother the infant.
Medics made a safeguarding referral to the police after Logan suffered a broken arm in August 2020, with Williamson saying he had fallen down the stairs.
She took him to hospital the day after the incident and said she thought he had only dislocated his shoulder and had tried to put it back. Later she told a friend the youth had confessed to pushing Logan down the stairs, but it was not until January last year that she told the police.
Speaking after the verdicts, Detective Inspector Lianne Rees, who led the murder investigation, said: “Logan was a beautiful, bright and innocent five-year-old boy with his whole life ahead of him.”
Additional reporting by the Press Association