WARNING DISTURBING CONTENT: Little Ethan Ives-Griffiths was found to have sustained a serious head injuries and significantly underweight after suffering at the hands of his own family
Video has emerged showing the horrific moment a killer grandad hauled his 2-year-old grandson by the arm “like a ragdoll” just days before the tot was brutally murdered.
Michael Ives, 47, and Kerry Ives, 46, were found guilty today following a trial at Mold Crown Court after their grandson Ethan Ives-Griffiths, collapsed in their home on August 14, 2021. The tot was found severely dehydrated and significantly underweight. He was found to have sustained a serious head injury and died two days later in hospital. His grandfather Michael has previously admitted in court being “cruel and neglectful to the toddler.”
Shocking footage that was collected in the weeks leading up to Ethan’s death shows Michael aggressively dragging his grandson through the garden by his upper arm. Michael was also seen shoving the toddler into the back of a car and was seen appearing to hit Ethan in one clip from August 12, 2021.
The jury heard how the tot was forced to stand with his hands on his head as a cruel punishment when he misbehaved. Ethan’s mum, Shannon Ives, 28, was staying with her son at her parent’s Garden City home where the tot was “targeted for abuse and subjected to casual cruelty.”
Shannon was found guilty of causing or allowing his death and child cruelty. Another video filmed on August 4 that year, shows Ethan was underfed and dehydrated walking through the garden at his grandparent’s home before he was grabbed by Michael and thrown up into the air.
An August 12 clip showed Ethan being shoved through a gate in the garden by Michael as his grandmother watched on. She appeared unmoved and continued to look at her phone.
Shannon and Ethan started to stay at her parents after she fled an abusive situation. But after suffering abuse himself, Ethan weighed just 22lbs
After Ethan collapsed, the emergency services were called after 18 minutes and he was rushed to the hospital where he would die wo days later. Detective Superintendent Chris Bell said the tot was “casually and brutally assaulted,” The Sun reported.
“”It is beyond comprehension how anybody could treat a human being like that, let alone a defenceless two-year-old who you should be caring for,” he said. It took the jury six hours and 54 minutes until they returned to deliver their guilty verdicts this morning.
Mr Justice Griffiths said Michael and Kerry Ives would be given a life sentence and that their daughter would face a “substantial prison sentence.” They are due to be sentenced on October 3.