WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT This ‘monster’ mother was found guilty of murdering her two year old son after being caught in the ‘worst case of child abuse ever seen’
Described by the police as a “monster”, a 25-year-old mum was found guilty of brutally murdering her own child after his post-mortem heartbreakingly revealed he had suffered horrendous abuse.
Keanu Williams was just two when his body was found with 37 injuries in January of 2011. He was discovered with a fractured skull and a torn abdomen in his home, where he lived with his mum Rebecca Shuttleworth, in Ward End, Birmingham.
Following the post-mortem, it was revealed there had been not just severe bruising to the child’s body but also marks which appeared to show he had been struck with a stick or a rod with strong force. The tear found in his abdomen was described as “fist-sized”, which resulted in a substantial amount of blood loss.
After a tense five-month trial, Shuttleworth was found guilty and set to serve a minimum of 18 years in prison. Sentencing Shuttleworth at Birmingham Crown Court, Mr Justice Spencer said: “The jury have convicted you of the brutal murder of your two-year-old son.
“He was a defenceless child, and it was your duty to protect him. Instead, you beat him so severely he died a lingering death from his injuries a day or so later. You have also been convicted of cruelty by failing to summon the medical aid he so badly needed,” The BBC reports.
On 9 January 2011, a call was made to 999 at around 7.40pm and by the time emergency crews arrived Keanu was collapsed on the sofa. The toddler’s death was later confirmed that same day.
It’s believed that many of the injuries in which Keanu was victim to could have been inflicted 48 hours before the call was made to emergency services. Their understanding is that the child was often left alone in a room to suffer in pain.
Det Chf Insp Marsh shared her thoughts outside of the court, saying: “It’s extremely difficult to understand how someone could do that to their own child. Rebecca Shuttleworth is clearly somebody who is not like a normal member of society.
“In the past, I have described her as a monster, and perhaps I would stand by that.” She added: “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. This is the worst case of child abuse I have ever seen.”
Despite this victory, many turned to the local authorities in Birmingham to blame, as the signs of abuse were thought to be hiding in plain sight. The independent chair of the Birmingham Safeguarding Children Board, Jane Held, claimed that the agencies involved were guilty of “totally unacceptable and unnecessary failures”.
She said: “Keanu died because there was a failure across every agency to see, hear and respond to him. Staff were distracted by his mother’s needs. Keanu died because people missed opportunity after opportunity to intervene.”
It was confirmed by those held at the time that as a result of this tragedy, both council and health staff had either resigned or lost their jobs. While the number of staff was not confirmed, she claimed that the figure was in the double digits.